Captain Jack Comes to Smallville
by DWDuck
Summary: Set after season 8 of Smallville and "Children of Earth" for Torchwood. A certain captain returns to Earth to help out the fledgling heroes, because like he says, " The 21st Century is when everything changes."
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Captain comes to town

Author: PatM

Pairings: Chloe + Jack, Clois, Jack + just about anything

Rating: PG - 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to Smallville or Torchwood. I'm just playing with their stuff. Besides if I did own the rights, Ianto will still be alive and Lana wouldn't.

Setting: After season 8 Sv and "Children of Earth" Tw

Notes: Slight Au - Lex is still alive and married to Lana (they deserve each other.) They don't know about Clark's secret.

Summary: A certain Captain is brought back to Earth. This time state side to help out the fledgling Superheroes. Because, like he says, the 21st century is when everything changes.

**Prologue**

Chloe walked down the stairs into the Talon to get her usual dose of caffeine. She had been up all night researching and working as the Watchtower. She grinned to herself as she thought about her hero name. "_Who would have thought that I would end up with a secret identity and a cool code-name_," she thought, "_now if we could only come up with something cooler for Clark than The Blur_," She continued happily musing down those lines as she bought her coffee and sat down to read the weekend edition of the Daily Planet. As usual Lois had an article on the front page and Clark had one on page 2. She decided to skip both and start with her secret, guilty pleasure, the comics section. She knew if Lois ever found out she would never hear the end of it.

She finished up the comics with **Get Fuzzy** and sighed contentedly. Chloe was having a relaxing morning for once. Her eyes snapped open in panic at the mere thought of it. She snatched her cell-phone from her purse, flipped it open, and looked for missed calls. There were no emergency calls from Clark. No 911 calls from Lois asking for help on research. Not even a text from Ollie and Co. "Huh, an actual boring morning, weird," she muttered and went back to her coffee and the paper

Later, she would not be able to say what it was that had drawn her attention to him, but she looked up to see a man getting a muffin and a drink at the counter. His back was turned to her and for an instant she thought it was Clark. He had the same general build and height. Like Clark he had black hair and was in excellent physical shape. She looked closer and noticed than the man was somewhere in his late thirties to early forties. Chloe let her eyes travel up and down his form and wondered if she should ask Lois to get her one of those for Christmas. "_Now where did that thought come from_," Chloe asked silently to herself, blushing slightly.

The man turned around and started to look for a place to sit. The Talon had become busy and all of the tables were full. In a rather bold move for her, Chloe cleared off her paper and motioned for the man to come over. He made eye contact with her, smiled and walked to her table. Chloe's heart started to beat faster and she wondered how someone could make the act of walking with a muffin and drink sexy. "_Hell if this guy was an actor_," she thought, "_I'd watch a show just to see this guy walk, no matter what the plot was_" The man was wearing dark gray slacks, a light blue shirt, and brown suspenders. Normally Chloe thought suspenders were just for really old guys, but on him, they looked good. He had a blue, wool overcoat draped over one arm. The man had made it to the table and Chloe caught herself staring at him. "May I join you?" he asked, flashing a smile of perfect white teeth. She flushed with embarrassment, but the man seemed not to notice.

"Oh, um, sure. Please sit. I haven't seen you here before. You're new in town aren't you? What brings you to our little corner of the world?" Chloe rambled.

"Just my luck, I'm here for less than a day I pick a seat at a table with a gorgeous investigative reporter," he teased. He faked a pout, but his blue eyes danced with cheer.

"I'm no longer a reporter, and...Whoa, back up! How did you know I used to be reporter? Are you stalking me? And did you just describe me as gorgeous?" The last question was asked on a brighter higher note.

The man held up a hand and ticked off on his fingers, "One: Reporters have a certain cadence and rhythm when they ask questions. I know, I dated a couple. You asked using the same cadence. Two: No, but I can if you want me to. Three: I call them as I see them, Blondie."

Chloe thought this over and replied, "O…k, that's reasonable I guess, but don't ever call me Blondie."

"What else do I call you, you haven't told me your name." the man said with his charming smile on full blast.

Chloe thought that smile was so like the famous Kent smile, but yet not - yin and yang. While Clark's smile implied innocence and made you want to protect him, this man's smile made you want to do things with and to him that were probably still illegal in some states and some things that were just plain improbable with-out the aid of zero gravity. "_What __**are**__**you**__ getting yourself into Chloe_?" she thought. "It's definitely not Blondie," she chuckled. Chloe stuck out her right hand, "Chloe Sullivan"

The man took her hand in his and shook it as he said, "Captain Jack Harkness,"

**Chapter 1**

Jack took the Chloe's hand in his and shook it, "Captain Jack Harkness, but you can call me Jack."

Chloe smiled, "Thanks Jack. Tea, huh. I would have taken you for a coffee kind of guy."

Jack's smile slipped and Chloe saw a flash of hurt in his eyes and then it was gone and his smile was back, but only at what she would consider human levels. "I quit drinking coffee after I left my last job. I had the best coffee in the world there. Every time I try to drink it now, it just reminds me I will never have that coffee again."

_"If he's talking just about coffee then I'm Lana Luthor". _Chloe quickly changed the subject. "So what does bring you to Smallville? You don't look like a farmer." "_You don't smell like a farmer either. Whatever he's wearing is awesome."_

He glanced down at his clothes, his smile replaced by a sly grin "Is that a bad thing, 'cause I can dress in whatever you want me to wear or wear nothing at all, if that's what you fancy." Chloe blinked rapidly at his remark and blushed again. Jack went on before she could get her bearings, "It's kind of a funny story how I got here. My last job didn't end well at all and I took an extended vacation. I was deep in the dumps and my best friend showed up out of nowhere and helped me through it. I wandered around for a while and then he showed up again. He said I looked like I needed some fresh air. After that he dropped me off outside this place next to my SUV. I have no idea where he found the SUV or how he got it here. After I made sure my keys still worked, I came inside, got my tea and a muffin and sat down next a woman with the prettiest green eyes."

Chloe smiled at the last part then shook her head as if to clear it, "Some friend. He drops you off in the middle of Kansas and doesn't fill you in on the details."

"Yep, best friend in the whole Universe. Well, two Universes actually," Jack's smile took on a bemused quality like he was million miles away. "He lets me know what he can and I fill in the blanks. We've been doing it that way for so long I think I would die if he gave me straight answer." Jack smirked at the private joke.

"So what are your plans?" Chloe asked. She was surprised at how candid Jack was. She knew he wasn't telling her the complete story, but it was more than what she would tell a complete stranger.

"Get a hotel room, convince a beautiful young woman sharing her table with me to be my tour guide for the day, and then take you out to dinner," Jack said as he lightly placed one hand on hers. Chloe drew her hand back slowly and deliberately crossed her arms across her chest as she leaned back into her chair.

Chloe smiled as she said, "You're pretty sure about yourself, Jack. What if I've learned not to let strangers get me into their cars and take me places?"

Jack laughed and also leaned back into his chair, "Of course I'm sure about myself. Who can resist these charms? To solve our little dilemma, we'll take your car. That way I'll be the one letting a stranger take me places. Some of my more memorable nights have started out that way." He wiggled an eyebrow suggestively. Chloe burst out laughing, began to raise her arms in mock surrender when she saw Lois and Clark walk into the Talon. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but Lois punched Clark in the arm. When Lois turned away, Clark smiled. Lois looked over at Chloe at waved.

"Jack, I'll be right back. My cousin and best friend just walked in." Chloe said. She hopped out of chair and walked towards Lois.

Lois had just walked in with Clark and they were bantering back and forth. "Smallville, I told you the place would be packed. There's no place to sit. If you had let me drive, we would have been here a lot sooner."

"Lois, if I had let you drive we would be even later because you would have been pulled over by that trooper for speeding," Clark teased.

Lois punched Clark in the arm. "That's for getting lucky and having a valid excuse for once."

"Ow," Clark remembered to say. It wasn't luck. Clark had heard the trooper using his tuning fork to check the calibration on his radar gun as he was setting it up to check for speeders. The fact that he was 3 miles down the road made no difference. You don't hear many tuning forks out in the fields and it didn't take that much to figure out who was using it. Lois didn't need another ticket on her license, so Clark had insisted on driving his truck after Lois had stopped at the farm.

"Hey, there's Chloe." Lois waved at her cousin.

"I wonder who that guy is at her table?" Clark asked somewhat suspiciously.

Lois rolled her eyes, "Clark Kent, defender of the innocent. I got news for you Smallville. Little Chloe isn't so innocent. I walked in on her and Jimmy a couple of times. In fact this one time…" Lois stopped for dramatic effect and looked at Clark's face. His eyes had gone wide with shock and his cheeks were rapidly turning the color of his favorite red jacket. "I'll save that story for later. Hey, Chloe!" Lois heard Clark make a sound somewhere between a choke and a cough.

"Hi, Lois. Everything all right with Clark. He looks a little flushed. You getting a cold Clark?" Chloe knew it was impossible for Clark to get sick and what had probably happened was Lois had said something to embarrass him once again. "_Good for her_" she thought, "_Clark needs to lighten up a little._" Chloe suddenly remembered that tonight was the night the three of them had decided on going bowling. Lois took great pleasure on beating the tar out of Clark. Chloe and Lois also liked watching Clark bend over as he bowled, but they would never, ever admit that to him or each other. Chloe really wanted to go out with Jack tonight, but she didn't want to disappoint Lois and Clark. Inspiration hit her.

"Hey guys, tonight is dinner at the farm followed by bowling, right?" Chloe asked.

"Of course it is, Cuz. We've been looking forward to it all week." Lois said as she put one arm around her cousin's shoulder and gave her a sideways hug.

"Well, I just met this guy and he asked me out tonight," Chloe said.

"Sure, we understand," Clark said with just a hint of coolness in his voice.

"Actually, I was going to ask if it was OK if he joined us? If not I'll see if I can get a rain check with him," Chloe laughed.

Clark perked up. Lois said, "Sure thing Chloe, but what about this guy makes you want to go out with him the first time you meet him?"

"You have to see it to believe it. Come on, I'll introduce you," Chloe said with an impish grin.

Lois looked at Clark who just shrugged his shoulders and they followed in Chloe's wake.

"Jack, this is Lois Lane, my cousin and this is Clark Kent, my best friend. Lois, Clark…This is Captain Jack Harkness. I forgot that we were having dinner at Clark's place and then going bowling after that," Chloe said.

"At least Chloe and I are going bowling. I'm not sure we can justify what Smallville does by calling it bowling," Lois interrupted. Jack looked over at the tall young man and saw the hint of smile.

"AS I was saying, we have room for one more if you would like to join us." Chloe saw Jack's eyes light up and her heart skipped a beat.

Jack's mega-watt smile came on and he said, "I'd love to. It's been a long time since I've eaten at a farm and I love bowling. Those shoes are great." His comment about the shoes brought a look of confusion on Clark's face and a laugh from the women.

Jack was chatting with Clark as Lois leaned over to Chloe and whispered in her ear, "Yeah, he's gorgeous and has a great smile, but what is so unbelievable?"

Like a kid with a new toy, Chloe whispered, "Watch." "Ugghh, my coffee's gone cold. Jack, would mind getting me another one?"

Always ready to put on a show, Jack said, "My pleasure." Jack stood up, turned around, and WALKED to the counter. Both women cocked their heads to the side and leaned over to get a better view as Jack made his way through the tables. Clark covered his mouth and laughed at them silently.

Lois breathlessly muttered to Chloe, "I am soooo going to enjoy bowling tonight." Clark's super-hearing picked this up and he stopped laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As they pulled into the Talon parking lot, they were able to park next to Jack's SUV. Chloe had fun driving Jack around the town. She marveled at how relaxed he had seemed. She had never met anyone so at ease in their own skin. The only problem was that damn aftershave or cologne or whatever he was wearing was wearing kept distracting her. She almost crossed the center line twice. "_Wow, he smells good. Funny thing is I don't think I think I ever smelled it before,"_ she thought. Back when they were friends, Lana would drag Chloe to the mall were Lana would spritz cologne after cologne into the air asking if it would be good for Whitney, Jason, or Clark, depending upon on the flavor of the month.

Chloe became so comfortable with Jack that she had started telling him some carefully edited versions of her "Wall of Weird" stories. After her first story she carefully watched his reaction. When she told some one new about the things that went on in her home town, she usually got one of two reactions: disbelief or freak out. Jack had neither response instead he acted like it was just another routine day at the office. When they were in the Talon parking lot she decided to push the weirdness envelope. "Pretty much all of the freaky stuff around here happens because of people who become infected by meteors found around the town."

"Meteors? Do people dig them up or do they just fall here pretty regularly? Do they think it is viral, bacterial, or some sort of radiation?" Jack asked.

Chloe's reporter instincts caught the slight change in his voice. His voice had shifted ever so slightly from Peter Pan care-freeness to something resembling professionalism. "There have been two major meteor showers to hit this town in the last 20 years. The most recent was about 3 years ago. We aren't sure what causes the effects. The meteors have to get into the blood stream somehow and not everybody is affected." Jack had turned to face out the side window. She could barely hear him mumble under his breath. She was able to make out the words: "f***ing, Unit, warned them." "What was that, Jack?"

"Nothing, I just hope the government helped out," Jack said. Jack saw the sour look on Chloe's face and said, "But, I'm guessing from that frown, that they did what they are best at which is about nothing." He clapped his hands. "Enough depressing talk. I make it a rule to limit depressing talk on a first date and I think we went over that limit."

"First date?" Chloe acted surprised but was delighted at Jack's attention.

"Of course it is. Why do you think I asked you to drive me around today? You see, I've already been to Smallville before. But to tell the truth, it has changed a lot from the last time I was here." Jack opened up his car door and got out of Chloe's VW. He turned around and leaned in beaming his smile, "I count this one as the first and tonight as the second. That way I can get around all those pesky first date rules you folks have in place now of days.) With that he leaned in further and lightly kissed her cheek. Before she could react, Jack had gotten back out and closed the door. "I'll see you tonight Miss Sullivan."

Chloe reached up and touched her cheek. She watched the SUV pull out of the parking lot and head in the wrong direction for the only hotel in Smallville. She thought about honking to get his attention. She had forgotten to get his cell-phone number. She decided against honking. She guessed he would figure it out anyway. The direction he was going was where the old hotel was, the one that had burned down 50 years ago.

Chloe went into the Talon and started for her apartment when she was intercepted by a guided missile known as Lois. Lois grabbed her by the arm and practically drug her smaller cousin up the stairs to the apartment they shared again. They were no sooner through the door when Lois pointed to the couch and commanded, "Sit, spill, and leave out no detail."

Chloe tried to look at Lois with an incredulous look, but her smile ruined the effect. "Lois, I only played tour guide for Jack. I showed him around, told him some stories from the wall of weird and gave him direction to Clark's place. You know, just normal everyday stuff." Chloe shrugged.

"Right. If every tour made the guide smile like you're doing now, I would quit my job and go to work at Metropolis Natural History Museum. And what's with your cheek? You keep touching it." Lois pointed out.

"All right I'll spill. Jack's really a lot more complicated than he seems. When I talked about the stuff that goes on here, he didn't blow it off or freak out. He listened and asked intelligent questions. So brains plus charm."

"And a nice butt," Lois interrupted.

"There is that. Plus beautiful eyes and a smile that I think comes with a warning label. But I do have to admit he is pretty full of himself. He said the tour was our first date." Chloe said.

"So what's wrong with that?" Lois asked.

"He said he wanted to count that as our first so tonight could be our second date. He said he wanted to a loophole around the first date rules." Chloe blushed and she replayed her conversation with Jack.

Lois laughed, "Wow, he's forward isn't he? What did you say?"

Chloe brushed her cheek, "Nothing. He leaned into the car and kissed my cheek. Which, by the way, was very nice. I was so stunned I couldn't think. He said he would see me tonight and drove off."

Lois laughed again, she should feel sorry for Chloe feeling off balance, but Chloe's smile told her it was OK. "So, Cuz, what are you do?"

Chloe looked into her cousin's eyes and smiled even more. Her decision made. "Wear something uncomplicated, I guess. It is the second date after all."

Lois tossed a couch cushion at Chloe, "I am such a bad influence."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack drove down the country road towards the Kent farm looking forwards to dinner and then a night out with Chloe and her friends. Her friends were in fact part of his mission here. He had been taken by surprise when they had walked in and the woman he had been hitting on turned out to be connected to them. He thought about how this had all come about. As usual, big things in his life started with HIM.

(The previous day - relative to Captain Jack)

The planet Theni - Southern Continent - Main Hive

The smoke from the engines was a clear sign that the ship would never take off again. The radiation leaking into the cabin should have killed the pilot hours ago, but somehow the pilot had managed to land the ship and was now checking his hair in the shiny skin of craft. "Captain Harknezzz, the Hive cannot believe you made it pazzzt the blockade. We are in your debt, we will pay you what we can for the cargo," the large purple insectoid hummed.

Jack put his hand on what he thought of as a shoulder, "Your larvae needed the medication and I couldn't sit around and watch them die. Another couple of lifetimes ago and I might have taken your money, but now, just take care of your young and we'll call it even." A large crash drew both beings attention to the ship as the starboard engine fell off. "Although if you can think of some form of alternative transportation out of here I would appreciate it."

Clapping started behind them and Jack turned around. A young man with light brown hair that hung into his face was leaning against a cargo crate. He was dressed in a brown jacket, tan slacks, blue shirt, and a bow tie. "I'm proud of you, Jack. You've come a long way from when we first met."

Jack smiled, "... and you've gone through two bodies since I've known you. Leave the dying to the professionals. Of course, this new body is pretty cute."

"JAAACK!" the Doctor said warningly before the two men embraced in a hug. "Come on; let's get you out of here." The two men walked through the cargo hold to a blue box that the hive was busily ignoring.

"She looks different. Younger, like you," Jack commented before they stepped inside. When they stepped inside, Jack stopped and stared. "I love what you've done with the control room."

"Well, thank you I..." the Doctor started. Jack walked past him and started talking to the control console.

"It's about time you put your foot down and stopped letting him do the decorating. I mean come on, the 'coral desktop theme'. I'm surprised it took you this long," Jack said.

"Oi! I could let you walk home you know," the Doctor complained. Jack turned and smiled at him just as the time rotor flashed a happy gold. "OK, I know when I'm out numbered. Let's get you home before you charm her into something I'll regret. On our way I'll fill you on why I picked you up."

"I guess I should have known you wouldn't have just stopped by to offer me a ride," Jack sighed.

"Had you been truly stranded, yes I would. But I know you Jack. You would have found a way off that planet sooner or later, 5 years max. And before you say anything, to an immortal that's nothing," the Doctor said.

"Go on."

"What do you remember of your 21st Century history classes?" the Doctor asked.

"Lots of turmoil, disasters, and some alien invasions. But somehow through all of this the human race sticks it out and comes out ahead. That was when the super-heroes started to come out of the closet and putting on their tights. I really liked some of those costumes," Jack said.

"Riiiight, but they're late. Somehow the time line has been damaged and the heroes are late in showing up. The most important one of all, Kal-El, a Kryptonian raised on Earth has yet to fully realize his potential. Part of the problem was he was with the wrong woman for too many years. He was supposed to be dating this other woman by now. This woman completes him and drives him to become the hero the Earth needs," the Doctor explained.

"Kal-El...Any relation to Jor-El?" Jack asked.

The Doctor looked at Jack with surprise written all over face. "Um, if I remember correctly it was his son. Why do you ask? How do you know about the house of El?" the Doctor asked.

"Jor-El and I met when he was on Earth. Nice guy, sorry to hear about Krypton," Jack said. "So what does Kal-El go by on Earth and who am I supposed to hook him up with?"

"Yeah, about that," the Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face. "The history texts I was able to find were all a little vague on those points. I'm going to have to rely on your skills to figure it out, and that is just half of the problem. The other heroes need to be goosed along as well. I can't believe I just used that phrase when talking to you. This new me is careless. Anyway, this lack of progress combined with the fact that Earth is a galactic crap magnet means that my favorite planet needs you back."

"As long as I get to keep my coat," Jack smiled.

(Present day – relative to Captain Jack)

Earth – Western Hemisphere – Kansas

Jack pulled into the drive to the Kent farm. His wrist band chirped, alerting him to the presence of alien technology. This only confirmed what he had thought at the Talon. Clark Kent was Kal-El. Clark looked too much like his father to be anyone else. As Jack parked next to the house he wondered if Clark was going to be as much fun to party with as Jor-El was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Clark heard the gravel crunching as the SUV turned in from the county road. He looked out the window and watched the SUV pull up as he stirred the mashed potatoes. He had decided to give Jack a chance, for Chloe's sake. She had called him earlier and had threatened to stick some green kryptonite down his shorts if he acted overprotective around her when Jack was near. Clark was thankful that Chloe hadn't learned to tell when he used his x-ray vision. Clark had recently learned how to use his x-ray vision to scan somebody and detect if they had kryptonite infected blood. The problem was that he could only do it at extremely close range. Sitting at the table at the Talon had been close enough and he had seen nothing out of the ordinary with Jack. Clark thought of it as necessary precaution to protect those he cared for, but he knew that Chloe would view it as an invasion of Jack's privacy, especially now that she was in charge of the Isis foundation.

"Come on in, Jack. The door is unlocked," Clark yelled out right as Jack's hand was about to knock on the screen door. Jack smirked and walked inside. "You're early, Jack."

"Thought I could swing by and see if I could help out with dinner. I know my way around a kitchen," Jack said. Clark studied the man for a moment and noticed that Jack wasn't laying on the charm like earlier and gave off the impression of actually wanting to help.

Clark tossed him an apron and smiled. His dad, Jonathan, had always taught him that a good way to learn about someone was to share a chore.

Lois and Chloe pulled up to the Kent house in Chloe's VW. "Oh, crap! Jack got here first. I bet Clark is giving him the cold shoulder or even worse, giving him the 5th degree!" Chloe gasped.

"Oh come on, this is Smallville we're talking about," Lois said as she looked over at Chloe. A silent second passed as the cousins stared at each other before they both tore open their car doors and raced inside the farmhouse.

The women slid to a stop just inside the living-room as they were unprepared for what their senses told them. Clark was sitting on a chair in the dining room wearing his normal jeans, red flannel shirt, and oddly enough an apron tied around his waist. Jack had a similar apron tied around his waist. He was wearing khaki slacks, a light purple shirt, and his suspenders. Clark had tears streaming down his cheeks and was laughing uncontrollably. "…and then the baker came out and the dough was in his hair, on his shirt, and all over his glasses," Jack said with a chuckle.

Clark laughed even louder and fell out of his chair. "There is no way that actually happened," he was able to choke out between laughs as he wiped away tears.

Jack held up his right hand, "Honest, I was there. I saw the whole thing." "_Of course I left out the part about the dough being a Gurtlian slime alien in disguise and I was the one who blew it up with a sonic-disruptor,"_ Jack thought.

"Did we miss something?" Chloe said as she gave a look of half concern and half happiness that passed from Clark to Jack and back again.

The men looked at each other and both began to laugh.Jack walked over to Chloe, took her hand, raised it to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Sullivan."

Chloe gave Jack a demur grin, "A pleasure to see you as well, Captain Harkness."

Lois punched Clark in the arm. "You taking notes farm-boy? When you finally meet the right farm-girl, you need to act that charming."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Lois, if you ever acted that nice to a date, I think he would start looking around for the hidden camera."

Jack leaned over to Chloe and whispered into her ear. "Are they always like this?" Chloe nodded her head. "_This is going to be more fun than I thought."_

Chloe noticed the thoughtful smirk on Jack's face as he looked at Clark and Lois. "_Could it be true? Handsome, smart, sexy, and a possible partner in crime in setting up Clark and Lois. This is too good to be true,"_ thought Chloe.

Jack led Chloe by the hand to a seat at the dinner table. He pulled out her chair for her and waited for her to sit. He made eye contact with Clark and looked over to where Lois was supposed to sit. Clark rolled his eyes, but refusing to be shown up in his own home walked over and pulled out the chair for Lois.

Lois had missed the little by play between the men and was taken by surprise when Clark moved the chair out for her. "You're a fast learner, Smallville."

Chloe watched Clark's face light up at the positive attention from Lois. "Careful Lois, that almost sounded like a compliment. Next you'll be saying thanks to the coffee intern," Clark teased. Even though Clark teased her, he followed through and pushed in her chair. "What can I get you folks to drink?"

The dinner went smoothly and was filled with small talk until Lois asked the question that had been on her and Clark's mind, "So Jack, Chloe said you recently left your last job. What do you for a living?"

"I was wondering when someone was going to ask that. I _am_ at a table with two reporters and one former one. Right now I am living off of some investments that I made quite a long time ago. They did pretty good and I am quite well off. As to what I did before," Jack paused and looked around the table with his trademark smile. "If you're as good of reporters as I think you are, you'll figure it out on your own. If you don't come up with the answer in a week, I'll tell you. I'll be disappointed, but I'll tell you. Oh, one condition though. No help from Chloe. You two have to work together. Tell you what; if you two figure it out, I'll fit the bill for the four of us to have dinner at the restaurant of your choice in Metropolis."

"What about me?" Chloe asked.

"You? I let you interrogate me using whatever _means _you feel necessary," Jack purred.

"I'm guessing it will take me a lot less than a week to get the information then," Chloe said as she smiled and leaned towards Jack.

Jack took on a mock hurt tone, "Miss Sullivan, are you implying that I'm …easy?"

Lois sprayed out the cola she had just sipped and watched her cousin's cheeks turn a bright red even though Chloe's smile never wavered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After they finished dinner, Clark and Jack cleared the table and with the help of Lois and Chloe, they washed and dried the dishes in record time. As usual with Clark eating, leftovers were not a problem. Clark made sure the recipe for the strawberry mash Jack had whipped up was safe so that he could send it on to his mom, Martha. When the last dish was put away, Lois asked, "So what are the driving arrangements for the drive out to the bowling alley?"

Clark turned to Lois and smirked, "Well, luckily Chloe drove so that means we all have a better chance of getting there alive." He suddenly found a dish towel in his face.

"Funny Smallville, but I would like to get there before the place closes." Lois gave her almost ritual reply. "The only reason I let Chloe drive was because I plan on having a few beers while we bowl. Of course, even with a few in me, you still don't stand a chance of beating me."

Jack had stepped over to Chloe and was standing next to her. She took a deep breath and inhaled the aroma that was Jack. She looked up at him, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "This could go on for a while," she whispered. Jack nodded.

"Why don't I drive? I have plenty of room for all of us," he said. "_Especially now that I took out Toshiko's computer brackets," _he thought. "It will save on gas."

Chloe liked Jack, but she respected the environment too much and had to call him on this. So far this was the only thing that had bothered her about him. "Jack, you drive a big SUV. I don't think that we would end up saving any gas by taking that stegosaurus sized beast any where." Chloe expected Jack to be offended by this, but again his reaction surprised her.

"Finally someone in Kansas who can think clearly about the environment. I was beginning to think it they were only on the coasts of this country during this decade," Jack said. His face took on a mysterious grin, "My SUV is a one of a kind, custom built. It is sort of a …hybrid; I guess you could call it. The engine is still under design and testing, but I have a working prototype. I agreed not to tell anyone too much about it until it was ready for production, but I can say the amount of gas I save is astronomical," Jack said. "_Not exactly a lie,_" Jack thought, "_but I can't tell them it has a fusion engine I put in it that won't be invented for another 115 years."_

Chloe felt her shoulders relaxing. She hadn't even realized that they had tensed up waiting for Jack's response to her stand on the environment. Without thinking she took his hand in hers and looked at the others, smiling. "Jack is driving."

They walked outside and over to Jack's SUV. For the first time, Chloe noticed the symbol on the grill was the letter "T" made out of hexagons. She was about to get in when she saw Jack holding the door on the left side of the vehicle open. She craned her neck to look into the vehicle and saw the steering wheel was on the right side. Lois was the first to comment, "Well Smallville, if we want to run up a big tab on Jack's behalf next week, we need to start looking in Europe."

They all got into the SUV and Jack turned the key in the ignition. For moment nothing happened. Lois, Clark, and Chloe looked at each other in confusion as Jack just there and smiled patiently. A male voice, soundly just slightly computerized, said, "Security authorization."

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said in a clear, commanding tone.

"Voice print confirmed. Welcome Captain Harkness, you sexy beast." Both women laughed at the last bit and Clark looked slightly uncomfortable. The engine started and Jack pulled away from the house.

"Oh…my…God! Did your car just flirt with you?" Chloe laughed.

Jack looked smug. "I had a little problem right before I left my last job with the SUV being stolen. It was supposed to be theft proof. My friend who dropped me off here thought it was hilarious and gave me this new security system for the SUV. I've been working on programming the thing this afternoon. This is the first time it has said any thing like _that_. I guess my friend has developed a new sense of humor."

The drive to the bowling alley was short and filled with small talk. Lois and Clark tried to question Jack about his past and he told him that he wouldn't answer any direct questions, to make their wager fair. They pulled up to the bowling alley and Jack read the sign, "Lois' Lanes". He laughed until Lois punched his shoulder.

"Laugh it up, Jack. No relation by the way otherwise I would be asking for a cut of proceeds," Lois said.

"Huh? Oh no, I just thought it was funny that they kept the name," Jack explained. The others looked at him quizzically. "There used to be a saloon on this site called Lois' Place. The owner had an ex-wife who left him because she thought that alcohol was the root of evil. To get back at her he named the saloon after her." He noticed they were still staring at him. He shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? I'm a history buff." He pulled in to a parking space and quickly got out and ran around the front of the SUV to get Chloe's door. Chloe smiled, indulging in the pampering.

"Why thank you, Captain Harkness," Chloe said as she took Jack's hand to help her out of the SUV. They walked into the bowling alley holding hands.

Lois wistfully watched them and waited for Clark to open her door. She waited until she saw Clark entering the building. He turned around, smiled mischievously, winked at her and said, "You coming Lois?" Lois stormed out of the SUV and ran to the door only to find Clark there holding it open for her like a gentleman.

"Jerk!" Lois said as she walked by. She couldn't resist and stuck her tongue out at him as she walked by. Clark's laugh broke away any hard feelings and they made their way to the shoe counter.

Jack had chosen a pair of brightly colored shoes and was finishing putting them on. "What do think ladies? Clark?" with that Jack walked forwards 10 feet and then back, giving them an impromptu fashion show.

Chloe and Lois watched with approval. "Yeah, looks great," Chloe nodded. She had completely missed the shoes and had been busy watching other parts of Jack. Lois nudged her and motioned towards the bar with her chin. Judging by the hungry stares Jack was getting from several of the ladies and some of the men, his walk had been noticed by more than just them. Chloe bounced up to Jack and took his hand. "Lane 4, when you're done taunting the cougars." Jack laughed. Chloe decided that she wanted to hear that laugh more often, a lot more often.

The first game had ended with Lois winning and Jack coming in a close second. Chloe had a respectable third place, but as usual, Clark's score was dismal. When she thought no one was looking, Chloe shared a knowing smile with Clark. They both knew that Clark could get a strike on every lane in the place simultaneously. They had no idea that Jack suspected as much. Chloe looked over at Jack and saw he was staring off into space. "You OK?" she asked.

"Huh, uh…yeah…sorry, I was just remembering the first time I ever went bowling. I haven't thought about it in a very long time," he said. His Time Agency partner, John, had taken them to the base recreation center and taught him how to bowl. "_I don't know what is more disturbing. The fact that this simple outing triggered one of my hidden memories, or the fact that there is still bowling in the 55__th__ Century."_

Chloe was up first this time and Jack leaned forward in his seat, enjoying the show. Chloe was wearing a grey half jacket over a maroon t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of tight blue jeans. Jack looked at her ensemble and realized that her clothing choices had all been…uncomplicated. Jack couldn't keep his smile from growing larger. Lois caught Jack ogling her cousin and had to rib him, "See anything you like Jack?"

Jack tore his eyes off Chloe and turned to Lois. Jack paused as if he was collecting his thoughts. When he spoke he gave Lois a half smile, but his voice rang with sincerity, "Do you want the list from head to toe or alphabetically? It's quite a long list." Clark overheard with his super-hearing and almost choked on his cola. Jack and Lois didn't notice.

Chloe came back from the lane to find Jack smirking and Lois staring at him speechless. "_Wow, Lois speechless. This guy's good." _"What did I miss?" Chloe asked.

Lois jumped up and spat out, "I need a beer."

Jack put his hand on Lois' shoulder and eased her back into her chair. "I'm buying. Clark, Chloe, anything for you?"

Clark was wiping cola off of shirt and shook his head no. Chloe said, "They have a good iced cappuccino, I'll take one." Jack headed off to the bar.

Lois pulled Chloe down into the plastic seat next to her. "That guy has the serious hots for you." Lois watched her cousin's face blush and her eyes brighten. "Whoa, slow down there cowgirl. What do you know about this guy other than he's gorgeous, charming, smart, can cook, and forget I said anything because I'm just jealous. But seriously Chloe, be careful. And another thing. What the hell is he wearing? It's not musk, spice, or anything else I can put my finger on but it smells great. If we can get Smallville some, maybe we can get him a date." Lois said the last part loud enough for Clark to hear if he had been human. A French fry flung into her hair was Clark's only reply.

Jack came back with Chloe's iced cappuccino and two bottles of Guinness. He handed one to Lois who arched an eyebrow at him. "This reminds me about the story of the German exchange student who was having problem with his English. Knowing that he was from Germany his friends in the States kept offering him beers from America which he declined saying, 'No, it is like making love in a canoe.' They all thought this sounded pretty good and offered him even more American beer. He again declined comparing American beer to making love in a canoe. This went on for a while until another friend from Germany heard him and started laughing. He corrected his friend." Lois made eye contact with Jack and winked, he nodded and they said the punch line together, "It's not 'making love in a canoe' my polite friend, the phrase is 'f**king close to water'." Even Clark laughed at the elaborate set-up. Chloe looked from Jack to Lois and back again.

"OK, what's with the evil brain sharing routine?" Chloe chuckled.

"Army brat." Lois shrugged her shoulders. "Of course when I heard it, the guy was a French exchange student. Lucy and I were stationed with the General in Belgium," Lois explained.

"_When I first heard it will be 300 years from now in a bar near Olympus Mons, on Mars. Even with 300 years of practice, American beer still tastes like crap," _Jack mused_._

They nursed their drinks and were finishing up their last game. Lois was surprised that she was having this much fun and had only had one beer. She was even enjoying going out on a date with Smallville. _"Wow, that Guinness must be really strong if I think this is a date. Just think about something else, Lois_." Lois thought to herself. She was trying to think of anything but Clark and ended up watching Clark's butt instead. Lois looked over and saw Jack watching Clark's butt as well. He wasn't watching with the same intensity as he was when watching Chloe, but he was definitely appreciating the view. Clark was walking up to the foul line and was about to release the ball. Lois leaned over and whispered into Chloe's ear, "Not that you have anything to worry about, but your date has totally been checking out Smallville's ass." Two things happened at once. Chloe smacked Lois' arm and Clark who couldn't help but overhear with his alien enhanced senses loss his balance and fell on what everyone was busily watching. Lois was the only one who asked if he was all right, even if she was laughing along with the others.

"Just my pride," Clark tried to glare at his friends, but he gave up and just laughed with the rest of them. They gathered up their things and headed to the counter to turn in the shoes.

"Loved the shoes!" Jack said as he put his pair on the counter and winked at the 40 something male owner.

"I think I'm catching on. You'll flirt with anything won't you?" Chloe teased.

"Of course," Jack said as he lifted her hand to his lips and again kissed her knuckles. This drew a chuckle from the owner. "I'm going to go warm up the SUV." Jack walked towards the exit.

"Our walking men's body wash commercial over there was telling us an interesting story about the name of this place. He said it used to be a saloon a long time ago named 'Lois' Place'," Lois said to the owner.

The owner looked at Jack's retreating back with surprise. "Yeah, not many people know that story. Hold on I have an old photo from the turn of the century that shows the old place." The owner went back to the office. He came back with a sepia tone photo of several men standing in front a classic looking western saloon. The name "Lois' Place" was painted on a sign hanging over the door. Lois was the first to see the obviously drunk pair of men holding each other up, mugging for the camera in the background.

"Smallville, look at that guy. He kind of looks you, same build and everything. The only difference are that his hair is lot shaggier and he actually looks like he knows how to have a good time. I would think he was an ancestor of yours if wasn't for the 'having a good time' part," Lois teased.

Chloe saw the look of concern on Clark's face and focused on Clark and stopped looking at the picture. She failed to notice the second man . "We should probably catch up with Jack," Chloe said.

Clark was quiet on the ride back to his farm barely bantering with Lois. He had been shocked with what he had seen. Lois chalked up his quietness to the farm boy not used to staying out late. When they got to the farm, Clark got out and made a quick excuse about turning in. He didn't even notice Chloe inviting Jack to follow them back to the Talon.

Clark waited until he heard both vehicles about 3 miles down the road and started running towards his arctic fortress. From the visions he had received before in the fortress, he had clearly recognized one of the drunk men as his biological father, Jor-El. He wanted to know why and how Jor-El and gotten drunk. Kryptonians were immune to alcohol. Clark was also concerned about the second drunk man. The one wearing a Victorian, leather duster. The man who looked amazingly like Captain Jack Harkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Fortress of Solitude – Arctic Circle

Clark sped into the fortress his mind spinning with questions. What had his father been doing with an ancestor of Jack's? Where they really drunk in that picture? And for that matter, how did a Kryptonian get drunk in the first place? Clark was well aware of the fact that his species had immunity to alcohol. He came to a stop in front of the center console made up of crystals and was about to speak when he heard the now familiar disembodied voice of his biological father, Jor-El. "Welcome my son. I have been monitoring Earth's communication and military satellites and have not detected any threats that would warrant a visit from you. What is troubling you, Kal-El?"

Clark ignored the rebuke in Jor-El's voice and began to tell him what he had found. "Jor-El, I found a photo of you from some time near the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries. You were at a saloon in Smallville. What can you tell me about it and the time you were there? You were there with a man who might have the last name of Harkness."

"I do not remember a photo being taken," Jor-El said matter-of-factly. Clark began to wonder if the photo was faked due to the fact that he and Jor-El shared the trait of eidetic memory. Jor-El's next statement floored Clark. "However that does not mean that the photo was not taken. I could have posed for the photo and not remembered. And you are correct, I did have dealings with a man named Harkness then. He was partially to blame for my memory loss."

"Who else was to blame?" Clark asked, afraid to hear the answer. He had a bad feeling that this ancestor of Jack's was just as bad as the version he knew now.

"I was, Kal-El. Perhaps it would be better if I shared these memories with you. Will you permit the sharing?" Jor-El asked. Clark thought for a moment about the intimate nature of what Jor-El had just offered. He would relive Jor-El's memories and they would then be his. Clark wasn't sure he wanted to be closer to Jor-El after what they had been through, but he wanted to know. Clark nodded his head. The control panel glowed and a warm, gold beam engulfed Clark.

(Earth – 1895 – Kansas)

Outside of Smallville near the Kawache caves.

Jor-El was distracted. He had found remnants of yet another non-human species on this planet. The remains were very old, and by the looks of them hostile. These remains were in the Southern- polar region. This was the fifth, separate, distinct species he had found. The remains ranged in age from only a hundred years old to almost 2,000 years old. They were scatted all across the globe. The only thing they seemed to have in common was there total disdain for human life and their total, absolute defeat in a matter of days. He was wondering what other alien influence was taking an interest in his favorite planet when he walked into the clearing where he had hid his ship. He was completely unprepared for what he saw.

Jor-El was having a difficult time comprehending what was before him. Instead of walking into a clearing to find his starship cloaked, his starship was clearly visible and a human male was leaning against a tree near it chatting it up with his ship. Talking with his ship was not surprising, it was sentient after all, but to have a human do it was unnerving. Jor-El hung back and used his super-hearing to ease-drop. He was shocked again to hear that the man was speaking in Galactic trade, the language used for off-world communication. "So, what's a beauty like you, with such a shapely stardrive I might add, doing in this spiral arm?" the man asked Jor-El's ship. Jor-El choked

"_By Rao, he just flirted with my ship," _Jor-El thought. "_Judging from the purple glow coming from her ports, she's enjoying it."_ Jor-El looked at the man's clothing trying to get a clue as to where the man was from. He was wearing a Victorian, leather duster over a white shirt and black pants. He had some sort of wrist band on his right wrist. Jor-El belatedly used his x-ray vision to confirm that the man was human. Jor-El walked further into to the clearing and cleared his throat. The man spun around and made a motion with his hand as if to indicate to the ship to re-cloak.

When the ship didn't cloak itself, the man looked back and forth from it and Jor-El. "Oh, I get it. He belongs to you."

To test the man Jor-El spoke in English, "Actually it belongs to me, but sometimes I have a hard time convincing myself of that. I am Jor-El. Who are you and what are doing with my ship?"

The man walked forward, his right had extended in the local custom of greeting. He answered Jor-El in English, his accent similar to those on this continent, "Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood Institute of London. Of course we have no jurisdiction here since they lost the colonies, but we never let anything like that stop us." The man smiled at his own joke. Jor-El was about to ask him what the Torchwood Institute was when a female member of Kawache tribe ran into the clearing.

"Jor-El, thank the spirits you have returned. Evil spirits have come from the stars and have taken some of the People to their camp. We were about to attempt a rescue when I saw you talking with Kokopelli here in the clearing," the young woman said.

"Kokopelli?" Jor-El asked as he looked as Jack, who just chuckled.

"It is our tribe's nickname for Jack. The People who live to the south of us have legends of a god who behaves like him. But there is no time for this, the evil spirits are strong and they were in and out of the camp before we could react. They have taken only young members of the tribe. We must hurry!" she implored.

"Where are they?" Jor-El growled. The tribe woman pointed to the North and Jor-El super-sped off in that direction.

Jor–El looked over his shoulder and saw Jack draw his revolver, "Get the rest of the warriors and meet me at the invader's location," Jack said. He ran after Jor-El as fast as a human could. Jor-El was confident that he could handle things before the humans got there.

Jor-El found the other aliens not far from the town of Smallville itself. The ship they had come in was dark brown and giving off foul smelling vapors. It was round with stubby airfoils at the sides and top. Three engines stuck out of the rear. Jor-El estimated that whoever had designed this craft had just recently discovered interstellar flight, relative to his own species. He looked for the interlopers and saw a group of large, brown, bi-pedal reptilians. They were wearing a collection of mismatched uniforms and weapons. The only thing they each carried in common was what Jor-El decided was either a very large knife or a very small sword. He didn't see any members of the Kawache around. He tried to x-ray the ship but found it was shielded. He listened and heard two of the creatures talking in sibilant hisses. They were speaking a dialect of a language he was familiar with. "We are still having problems with the gasses we picked up from the scoop when we passed through that last nebula, Boss. I think we should just vent it and scoop from this system's giants. Now that we have some livestock to restock the larder, we have plenty of extra time."

Jor-El had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach about what the "livestock" was. He was formulating an attack plan when the leader of the group touched a panel on the ship, "Agreed. We will leave as soon as the tanks are empty." A glowing green gas vented from the ship, spilling out from both sides. Jor–El super-sped to the ship and into the cloud of gas that was falling to the ground. Immediately his lungs burned and he felt his strength leave him. He slowed down and became visible to the invaders. The leader yelled something that Jor-El was not able to understand. His mind was afire with pain. He struggled to stay on his feet. The leader back-handed him across the face and sent him sailing into the side of the ship. Jor-El felt his lip had split and tasted blood. The broken skin exposed to the green gas felt like molten metal. He struggled to his feet, knowing that the humans would need his help. Jor-El stumbled towards the aliens he had heard talking and saw 4 others coming out of the ship. He tried to stand straight and square his shoulders as the reptile he took to be the first officer walked over and punched him in the stomach. Jor-El doubled over, coughing up blood. Jor-El went down on one knee, trying to marshal his strength. The invader in front of him drew his long knife and then grabbed Jor-El by the hair. Jor-El set his jaw in defiance and prepared to meet his fate as the head of the house of El should.

Jor-El's ears suddenly rang from the thunder crack of large a caliber revolver being shot from close by. The alien standing in front of him looked surprised and no longer symmetrical as it was suddenly missing an eye on one side. The alien pitched over dead. Jor-El turned his head and saw Captain Jack Harkness standing near the tree line, his right arm extended in a shooting stance, his jacket billowing around his legs. Fanned out behind Harkness were three women from the Kawache tribe, completely nude. Jor-El who was having a hard time remaining conscious was irritated that Harkness seemed to have only one thing on his mind.

"Hello, I'm Captain Jack Harkness and you folks have about 3 seconds to turn over the people you took or all hell is going to break loose. 1…2…3, Ladies they're all yours," Jack said with a smirk, but his eyes had become cold. Jor-El shivered at seeing those eyes, and the cold that he saw could only be found in the Void. Jor-El then saw the women shift and Jor-El's irritation changed to admiration for Harkness' battle strategy. The women he had brought were skin-walkers and where three women had been standing a moment before, three large wolves now stood. The three wolves rushed past the Captain and leapt on the invaders, tearing at throats.

Jor-El was watching the ballet of death the skin-walkers were performing around him when he felt hands pulling his shoulders. Harkness was dragging him away from the ship and the affect of the gasses. Harkness dropped Jor-El as the leader of the reptiles lunged at Jor-El, plunging his knife at his chest. Jor-El saw Harkness throw himself between him and his attacker and saw the blade sink into the center of Jack's chest. Jor-El watched the Captain's lifeless body fall to the side as one of the wolves sank its teeth into the neck of the leader of the invaders. The crack of the reptile's spine as its neck broke was the last thing Jor-El heard before he lost consciousness.

Jor-El felt the yellow sun knitting his cells back together. He kept his eyes closed for a moment reveling in the feeling of being alive and strong again. That thought made him remember the fight he had been in and the carnage he had seen. The invaders had been willing to kill his humans for food. Then his humans had fought back with such bravery against what they thought were evil spirits. The one human who knew they weren't spirits had given his life to protect Jor-El. Jor-El vowed at that moment that no matter what happened he would see that this planet would be protected. He opened his eyes to see one of the skin-walkers standing above him, smiling down at him. She was fully clothed this time. She handed him a cup of water and said, "Welcome back, Jor-El. You have slept for 2 days."

"How did the battle end?" Jor-El asked, afraid to know.

"The sky lizards have one less tribe to worry about feeding," the woman said, smiling a predatory smile. "None of the People suffered any great harm, a few cuts, some bruises, and one broken arm."

Jor-El was disturbed that even after what Captain Harkness had done, they did not think of him as worthy of being mentioned. "What did you do with Captain Harkness' body?" he asked.

The woman blushed a deep crimson, "That is a very personal question and one that does not concern you, Jor-El. What Kokopelli and I do in my tent is our business and ours alone. Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Hey, you're awake! Sweetie, would you give us a minute?"

Jor-El sat up and looked at the man he had been assuming was dead. "Captain Harkness! How? What happened? I saw them stab you," Jor-El stammered.

Jack's eyes shifted to the side for an instant and then back to meet Jor-El's, "Don't know what to tell you. You were lying on the ground. You must have had been looking from a weird angle. I'm here, gorgeous smile and all," Jack said as he held his arms out wide. "I was worried about you. You looked pretty bad for awhile. What happened?"

"I don't know? My only guess is that whatever nebula where those gasses came from must be filled with a type of radiation that is harmful to my people," Jor-El said.

"No matter. You're back from the dead, and take it from me, this deserves a celebration," Jack said as he reached out his hand and helped Jor-el stand. Jack smiled at Jor-El. "We're going out drinking!"

"Captain, I must tell you that alcohol does not affect my species," Jor-El admitted.

Jack's smile only got bigger as he put an arm around the other man's shoulder, "Did I ever tell you that I used to tend bar specialized in serving different species. Give me your specs and an hour and I guarantee I'll come up with a concoction to get you plastered!"

Earth – present day

Fortress of Solitude – Arctic Circle

Clark blinked his eyes several times as the vision ended. "What happened after that?" Clark asked.

"I…don't fully remember. Captain Harkness is a very competent bartender. We ended up naming the drink 'a phantom zone'," Jor-El said.

"Phantom zone?" Clark asked.

"Yes, they snuck up on me and the next day my head felt like the burning sands of the death plains. Not to mention my mouth tasted like several phantoms had been using it as a urinal all night long," Jor-El said matter of factly.

Clark laughed. He would treasure the thought of Jor-El with a hang-over for the rest of his days. Jor-El let him laugh for a few more moments before he interrupted. "Do you think the man you have met is related to the Captain Harkness I knew?" Jor-El asked.

"No. I' don't know how, but I think it is the same person. There is no way two people can not only look the same, but act the same over 100 years apart." Clark then told Jor-El about his encounters with Jack during the day.

"I believe you are correct, Kal-El. I also do not know how a human can live as long as him, but it is definitely the same man. Kal-El, he is an ally that I feel you will be able to trust, within certain limits. You will be able to trust him with your life and your secret."

"Then what are the limits you're talking about?" Clark asked.

"I wouldn't trust him alone in a convent…or a monastery for that matter. And DON'T let him mix you a drink unless you are willing to pay the price the next day."

Clark ran back to the farm smiling and shaking his head in wonder. _Had the Fortress actually made a joke, _Clark thought. He was happy that he could trust Jack and that he didn't have to worry for Chloe's sake, or at least too much.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Lois looked over at her cousin in the driver's seat. Chloe kept looking back and forth from the road in front to her to the rearview mirror to see if the large black SUV was still behind them. Whenever she looked in the mirror, Chloe smiled. Lois decided to tease her little cousin. "You know, Cuz, I'm pretty sure Jack can find his way back to the Talon. It's not like the road isn't straight and goes RIGHT to the place. Or…since the night is still young, were you distracted by coming up with plans for things to do with Mr. Tall and Sexy?"

"Busted," Chloe said sheepishly as she shot a glance over at Lois.

"Tell you what, in the interest of making it there in one piece, how about I think up the stuff **WE **can do together and you can focus on the road," Lois said playfully. Chloe gave her a horrified look and before she could respond and Lois went on, "I'm thinking we can start out with a nice chaste game of Monopoly followed by watching a nice, non-romantic action movie on the couch, with me sitting in between you guys of course. Wouldn't want any funny business going on, now would we." Lois gave Chloe one of her best, saccharine sweet smiles.

Lois knew that if looks could kill, she would have been reduced to a smoking hole in the passenger seat of the VW. "Don't make me turn this bug around, Lois. I have no problem with dropping you off at the Kent farm and letting you either walk back to town or stay there for the night," Chloe threatened in her best imitation of a mom voice. "_Now why didn't I think of that earlier,"_ Chloe mused.

Lois saw the mischievous grin on Chloe's face, "Oh no. I recognize that look. I take it back. I'll behave. Please mom, don't strand me in flannel town," Lois laughed. "Honestly Chloe, what is your plan for tonight?"

"I guess it all depends on what Jack wants to do. Since it's a beautiful night, I was going to see if Jack would be up for a visit to Wellington Cove at the Lake," Chloe told Lois.

Lois laughed, "Chloe, I've got a feeling there isn't much Jack isn't _up_ for, and I'm pretty sure he won't mind going to make out point with you."

When the two cars pulled into the Talon parking lot Chloe jumped out of car and ran inside. Jack made a move to follow her, but Lois intercepted him by putting a hand on his chest. "Hold up cowboy. Chloe will be right back. She just went to get a picnic basket and some blankets and this gives us some time to talk." Jack faced her and stayed silent. "That park bench over there can figure out that you're probably the most sexually charged person on this planet." Jack started to say something, but Lois held up her hand in a gesture for him to keep quiet. "I don't have a problem with that. I just want you to know that within the last year, Chloe has had two relationships end very badly for her, and if you hurt her, I'll kill you." Lois said the last bit with a smile and a bat of her eyelashes.

"Lois, I like Chloe and already consider her a good friend. I don't know if there will be something else there or not, but I guarantee you that if I hurt Chloe in anyway, not only will I let you kill me, I'll let you do it twice." Jack said. He had looked into Lois' eyes and spoke from the heart. Jack held out his hand to shake Lois', "We have an understanding, Ms. Lane."

Lois shook Jack's hand. "I believe we do Captain Harkness. What did you mean by twice?" Lois asked. She was kept from her answer by Chloe opening the door, holding two blankets and a picnic basket

When Chloe had opened the door, she had seen the somberness between her cousin and Jack. When Jack had turned towards her, his face took on his usual grin that she knew she could become addicted to. "So what would you think about a late night picnic?" Chloe asked.

"With that Lois 'three's a crowd' Lane is heading inside. See you in the morning, Cuz. See you later, Jack," Lois said. As Lois walked past Chloe into the Talon, she gave her cousin a wink and whispered, "Have fun."

Jack walked up to Chloe and took the blankets and the basket, "A picnic sounds great. Which car should we take?"

"Let's take yours. I want to hear if it came up with any new pick up lines," Chloe said as she linked her arm with Jack's.

As they drove out to the lake, Chloe watched Jack's face in the glow of the instrument panel. She loved how animated he became when telling a story and how his smile was never far from his lips. Lips she was looking forward to tasting.

When they got to the cove, Jack backed up to the lake and opened up the rear hatch and folded down the rear seat to make room to spread out the blankets. Chloe was taking the plates from the basket and didn't see Jack wander off slightly from the SUV. Chloe put the plates out and looked around, "Would you like to start with some fruit?" When she got no reply, she looked around and found Jack a few meters away standing on the beach, quietly staring up at the stars.

Chloe's breath caught in her throat. The night was perfectly clear. The stars seemed to shine with more brilliance than Chloe had ever seen. The lake was still and reflected the inky sky like a mirror. Jack was standing at the shore line. He looked like he was floating alone among the stars, a solitary sentinel watching time go by. A tear came to her eye as her heart ached with both the beauty and the loneliness of what she was witnessing. As she watched him, a feeling of terrible wrongness crept over her. It wasn't a premonition of dread or anything like that; just that what she was seeing was wrong somehow. In an instant, clarity hit her and she smiled. She knew what was wrong; Jack should never be alone. Chloe walked behind Jack and put her hands around his waist. She leaned her cheek against his back and quietly held him. After a few moments, Jack seemed to come back from where he was. He turned around to face Chloe, her arms never losing their embrace. "Sorry…" he started to say, but she stopped him with a finger on his lips.

"You don't need to apologize. Come on, picnic remember," with that she led him by the hand back to the SUV.

They hopped into the back of the SUV and Chloe looked at the plates. "Yeah, right!" She slid the plates away with one arm and grabbed Jack with the other. She drew him to her for their first kiss. She wrapped both arms around his neck as he put one arm around her waist and one hand in her hair. At first their lips just touched and Chloe felt that electric shock that comes from every first kiss, but only magnified a hundred fold. Their lips pressed against each other more and their mouths opened to let their tongues entwine. They were forced to end the kiss when oxygen became an issued for Chloe. Chloe looked into Jack's blue eyes and gave him a sultry smile. Jack eased her down and he stroked her cheek with one finger. He kissed her again and one part of Chloe's mind began wondering if it was actually possible for their kisses to become more intense, more passionate. She gleefully told that part of her mind to shut up, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

After about an hour of serious making out, they stopped for air and Chloe was propped up on her elbow looking at Jack. She sighed happily. Even though Jack was the definitely the one person in the entire world who was the most comfortable about his sexuality and sex that she had ever met, he had not pressured or rushed the evening. They had spent the whole hour just kissing and caressing each other. Without warning, a yawn escaped from her mouth. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just did that," Chloe said.

"It is getting late. Do you want to head back?" Jack asked.

Chloe ran her fingers through his black hair. "Never," she whispered.

Jack's smile became tender. He folded up his coat and put it down as a pillow. He pulled Chloe into his embrace and covered them both with one of the blankets. Chloe fell asleep with her head on Jack's chest, wrapped in his arms.

Jack heard someone clear their throat and blinked his eyes open in the daylight. He was momentarily disoriented. He blinked his eyes a few times and came fully awake with the strange realization that he had actually fallen asleep. In the last 2000 years, he could count the number of times he had actually slept on one hand. Most of those times had been in Ianto's arms. He looked down at Chloe. Happiness and amazement warred for supremacy in heart. The throat clearing happened again. Jack looked around and saw a woman in her 40's wearing a Sheriff's uniform standing at the back of the SUV.

"Good morning. You two got any I. D.?" the Sheriff asked. Chloe woke and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Miss Sullivan? I didn't expect to see you out here. Your cousin Lois maybe, but not you. I guess I don't need to see your I.D. then, but you boyfriend here, I've never met." The Sheriff said.

"No problem, Sheriff. It's in my wallet over here," Jack said as he reached over and grabbed his wallet from where it sat on the floorboard. He pulled out his International Driver's License and handed it over. The Sheriff went back to her car and ran the I.D. on her computer. She returned a few moments later. Chloe thought she saw the Sheriff tremble slightly as she gave Jack back his license.

"Are we done here?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Sir," the Sheriff said. She turned around and walked back to her patrol car and then drove off.

"What was all that about? I've never seen the Sheriff act like that." Chloe said. Jack shrugged his shoulders and kissed Chloe.

Great Britain – Wales – Cardiff

A woman was just finishing changing her daughter's diaper when her mobile rang. She looked at the caller I.D. and answered the phone. "Hello Martha, please tell me that we aren't having another Weevil outbreak. I'm still on holiday and won't be back for another week. I promised Rhys that I would stay home."

"Gwen, we have a computer hit. We think he's back. A local law enforcement officer in Kansas ran his name through the system," Martha said.

"What makes you think this will turn out to be really be him this time?" Gwen asked.

"He was originally contacted by the Sheriff for possible lewd behavior when he was found asleep with a young woman at a lake at a known 'make out' location," Martha chuckled.

"My god, He's back. When do we leave?" Gwen asked breathlessly.

"U.N.I.T. transport is scheduled to leave tomorrow, direct flight to Metropolis, Kansas. You're .already on the manifest," Martha said.

"Rhys is going to kill me," Gwen sighed


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jack kissed Chloe as the Sheriff's car pulled out of site. "I don't know about you, but I'm famished," Jack said when their mouths finally separated. Chloe laughed and grabbed the plates that had never gotten used from the night before. They had breakfast consisting of fruit, cheese, and crackers. They passed on the wine and opted instead for some bottled water Jack always kept in the SUV. After breakfast Chloe excused herself to the park restroom. Jack walked down to the shore absorbed in his thoughts. Along the way he picked up some skipping stones.

Jack tossed the first stone and watched it skip across the surface. The blue sky was reflected in the water. It had happened again. He smiled. How it had happened so soon after Ianto's death, he didn't know, but it had. He was over 2,200 years old and had come to know his emotions pretty well. Usually it took a least a decade or more after the death of his last partner, but he had fallen in love again. The next stone skipped across the water. Ianto's face appeared in mind, his beautiful Welshman. There was no guilt or pain when it came to moving on. Those who ended up being long term partners with Jack (husbands, wives, boyfriends, or girlfriends) knew about his condition before committed to him. Jack knew Ianto would want him to be happy. In fact, Jack knew he had been the only man for Ianto and Ianto would probably fancy the brave, brilliant woman he now loved. "_You would have liked her, lover. I __**know**__ she would like your god like coffee skills. She's a lot like you. Strong, organized, and loving. She is protective of her friends like you were of our team. I want to have a relationship with her. I'm not going to waste time pushing her away because I'm scared, like I did with you. You healed me, my beautiful Welshman."_ Jack raised the last stone to his lips and tossed it. He turned around and saw Chloe sitting on the SUV tailgate watching him, her legs swinging. She had a contented smile.

Chloe had enjoyed watching Jack skipping stones across the water. It seemed as if with each stone his spirit had become lighter. When he had turned around, he had his dazzling smile on his face, but he looked years younger. Jack walked back towards her. Even though he was just walking with no effort being put into it for sex appeal, Chloe was still entranced. "Hey handsome," Chloe said when Jack got close to her. She hopped off the tailgate and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down to her height and kissed him passionately.

"Chloe there are some things I want to talk about," Jack said his voice serious. Chloe looked at quizzically, a nervous smile replacing the one she had worn a moment before. He looked Chloe in the eyes, took her hand, and kissed it. Chloe's nervousness for the most part evaporated. Jack grabbed one of the picnic blankets and took Chloe by the hand. He led her to the shore. He picked out a lace in the sun and put out the blanket. He motioned for her to sit. After she sat, Jack sat next to her. "Chloe, you a very special person. I would like very much for you to be my girlfriend…"

"Jack Harkness, are you asking me to go steady?" Chloe interrupted. She grinned as she grabbed one of his hands.

"Yes I am, Chloe Sullivan, but being in a long term relationship with me comes at a price." He looked down and then back into Chloe's eyes. "Everyone has secrets Chloe. Mine come in volume sets, but if we want to have any chance of having a good relationship, I need to be upfront and tell you mine. At least the big ones and the ones that won't rip a hole in the space-time continuum the size of Belgium."

With all of the drama that Clark insisted on causing with his secret, Chloe was elated that Jack had chosen to start their relationship with sharing his secrets with her.

"First major secret is that I used to work for a semi-secret organization called Torchwood. Our job was to monitor Earth and watch out for alien contact. I was the commander of the organization at the end. Or eventual mission was to determine if the aliens we encountered were hostile or not. If they were hostile, my team and I would kill them." Jack felt Chloe tense up, and saw her back go straight.

"But most of the time the aliens we encountered were just peaceful folk looking to exist without making trouble. We would keep tabs on them and try to make sure things went peaceful between them and humans. On extremely rare occasions we would run into aliens that were interested in helping out their adopted planet," Jack said. "Aliens like Clark."

Chloe gasped in shock and brought her hand to her mouth. "Is that why you met me in the Talon? Torchwood send you to me to get to Clark?" She started to cry and tried to turn away from Jack as he brushed his hand against her cheek.

"Absolutely not! I saw you there and sat down because a beautiful young woman had the confidence and courage to invite me to sit at her table. Imagine my surprise when Clark showed up. Chloe, Torchwood is my past. I don't work there anymore. They don't know about Clark. In fact, I made sure any reference of Kryptonians were kept out of the files as a favor to a drinking buddy who has since passed away."

"Who?" Chloe asked, her tears drying up. She wanted to believe Jack. So far nothing he had done had jeopardized Clark. "Who was this drinking buddy?"

"Clark's biological father, Jor-El," Jack said. Those words confirmed Jack knew Clark's secret and wasn't just guessing.

"Wait a minute. You're telling me that not only did you know Jor-El, but you were drinking buddies? Clark is immune to alcohol," Chloe said.

"Oh yeah, Jor-El and I got along pretty well, even if he was pretty uptight. That's why I came up with a special cocktail that took into account his _special_ heritage. We ended up calling the drink a 'phantom zone'," Jack laughed.

Chloe relaxed some and thought back to what he had said earlier and asked, "Belgium?"

Jack laughed, "Yeah, it's a common misconception that reality altering paradoxes will destroy the entire Universe. They only cause holes the approximate diameter of Belgium. Sounds small, but it is enough to blow up a planet." Jack watched Chloe for her reaction and when she just nodded he went on. "Ok, that covers the second to last major secret, one that I don't share with hardly anybody. I'm a time-traveler. I was born in the 55th Century. I joined a group of scum bags called the Time Agency. We were basically mercenaries, conmen, and general bastards. They wiped my memories and ended up traveling time-space on my own. I was just a conman, living from grift to grift."

Chloe had let go of Jack's hand and looked at him silently, contemplating what he had said. "Is that where the charm comes from, being a conman?" Chloe asked.

"No, the charm is all natural, just like that scent you keep smelling. It's not cologne, it's my 55th Century pheromones," Jack said.

"You smell that good all the time, awesome!" Chloe exclaimed as she took Jack's hand in hers again. She was getting over her initial shock. "Jack, I don't if there is a polite way of asking this, but are you a human or alien." The cloud that passed over Jack's face almost brought Chloe to tears again. "I'm sorry, was that the wrong thing to say? Because I don't have anything against aliens. I had a crush on one all through high school and dated one recently."

"That brings me to my last major secret. I was born on another planet to human parents, but I don't think I qualify as human anymore," Jack said. Before Chloe could say anything Jack went on, "Something happened to me, something far in the future, something beyond my control. I was…changed. I'm not like any living being that ever was or according to my best friend will ever be. Chloe, I can't stay dead. I'm over 2,200 years old. Granted I spent about 2,000 of those years in a meditative trance buried in a shallow grave near Cardiff, Wales, so I only count 200 of those years as field time."

"When you say 'stay dead' do you mean you've died before?" Chloe asked.

"Yep, shot, stabbed, choked, poisoned, and more recently I had a bomb implanted in my abdomen that tore up a city block. None of it sticks. I just keep coming back to life," Jack said.

"I've only done it once. Waking up in the morgue was terrible," Chloe whispered as she tightened her grip on Jack's hand.

"Those slabs are freezing, and don't get me started on the medical examiners," Jack laughed.

"I know, I nearly froze my ass off and when I woke up without clothes on, yuck, who had been touching?" Chloe laughed with Jack. She had finally found someone she could share her experience with. Although he sounded like he had a lot more experience with it than she did. She was perfectly content to leave it that way. "Anything else?"

"Those are the secrets I can tell you. The rest deal with time…and you know, Belgium," He shot her a grin. "The other thing you should know wasn't a secret. My last long term relationship was with a man. His name was Ianto. We worked together at Torchwood and I got him killed because of a mistake I made." Tear fell from Jack's eye. Chloe reached up to wipe it away.

"The coffee guy?" Chloe asked.

"The coffee god," Jack responded with pride.

Chloe stood up. When Jack started to stand Chloe motioned for him to stay. "I need a few moments alone to think, Jack. I'll be back." With that she walked back to the SUV.

Jack watched her walk away with fear in his heart. Few things actually scared him anymore. Rejection after opening up like that was top of the list. After about 15 minutes, Chloe came back and sat next to him. "That's a lot to process, but living in Smallville you learn to roll with weird punches. With all things considered I guess I should say, I'll go steady with you," Chloe said. Chloe thought the smile on his face could light up the Vegas Strip. She leaned over and began kissing him.

They had only begun kissing when her cell-phone rang. Chloe answered the phone when she saw it was Lois. Lois asked how she was and told her about her plans to go to the Kent farm to research Jack I order to win their bet about where Jack had worked before. Chloe looked at her new lover and smiled, "Yeah, good luck with that," Chloe said half sarcastically half encouragingly. "Hold on, Jack is motioning to me…What? OK. He said he wants me to give you a hint. He says to talk with the Sheriff. Hey! That tickles…I got to go Lois, I'll talk to you later." Chloe hung up as Jack tickled her sides. She tossed the phone aside and pushed him over. "You are in for it, Mister!" She laughed. They tickled and wrestled with each other until they ended up out of breath with Chloe on top of Jack. She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Do you remember last night you asked me if I wanted to go back?" He nodded. "I told you 'Never'. I mean it. I never want to go back. You're stuck with me Captain Harkness."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Clark was standing in his kitchen looking out the window towards his barn. He thought about his trip to the Fortress the night before and realized that he had gone from thinking of Jack as a creepy interloper to a friend. _"OK, an over-sexed_ _guy who hasn't aged in over a hundred years who would probably flirt with my tractor of I left it in gear, but a friend none the less_," Clark chuckled to himself.

After the memory sharing (and the hilarious confession about the hangover), Jor-El had gone on to explain to him that Jack's assignment had been to contact the Kawache tribe due to their proximity to an unidentified energy source. That energy source had been the Kryptonian equipment in the caves. Before the men had become three boosters to the solar wind, Jack had been up front with Jor-El and told him that Jack's masters had given him standing orders: find aliens, kill same, and steal their technology so that the British Empire could use it to "protect" the world. Jor-El had asked Jack where he was from and Jack had just smiled and refused to answer. Jack went on to explain that he usually took assignments were he knew that humans had either been put in danger or killed. If the alien turned out to be hostile, he took care of the situation. If it turned out to be a misunderstanding (which Jack said actually happened quite often) he tried to mediate and send the alien on their way. He would then lie to his superiors and say he had dispatched the threat. In both cases he would weed through the left over technology and pick out what he thought the humans could handle without causing too much of a problem. The rest, he destroyed. Jack had told an amusing story of an alien version of a permanent marker he had found in an alien cargo hold that he had convinced his handler at the time was a make-up applicator. Clark decided not to do anything to make Jack really pissed off at him.

Clark looked over at the clock and saw it was close to 9AM. He decided it was late enough to call over to Lois and Chloe's and ask Lois to come over and help him research Jack. Just because Jack worked for someplace called the Torchwood Institute over a hundred years chasing aliens, didn't mean that's what his last job was. "I still have to come up with a way to bring up Torchwood without outing either Jack or me as not exactly normal," Clark muttered to himself as he picked up the phone. He froze as he realized what he had just said. He looked over at his dog Shelby, "You know what I mean." He dialed the phone.

The phone rang several times and he was about to hang up when Lois answered, "Hello."

"Hi, Lois. I expected Chloe to answer, but I was going to have her wake you up so this works as well. You want to come over and we can work on researching Jack? I hear that new restaurant on 5th and Main is great, not to mention expensive. I've wanted to try it out for a while," Clark said.

"Smallville, as _great_ as working on a Sunday sounds, doesn't that sound like what we do for a living as reporters? I don't plan on budging from between these sheets all day so you'll have to come up with something more to get me out of bed," Lois complained. Last night Lois had already decided that she was going to catch up with Clark sometime that day and do just what he was proposing, but he didn't need to know that she thought to herself. Her comment about between the sheets caused a fantasy image to form in her mind of her and Clark sleeping in together after sharing a night that would call for lots of rest the next day. She smiled even more and then shook her head, "_Smallville, nah,"_

"I'm cooking brunch," Clark said simply. He smiled. He knew that Lois was a lousy cook and she came over to the farm at least 3 to 4 times a week to share in his cooking. "_At least that's what she keeps telling me…unless…Nah_. _Wishful thinking won't get you anywhere, Clark. No matter how badly you want her, someone of Lois' caliber is way out of your league_," he thought to himself. Clark shook his head to clear the thoughts away. Lois' next words brought a smile to his face, like they always did.

"I'll be over in an hour, Smallville. You know how I like my eggs!" Lois demanded as she hung up the phone. She got up with an extra spring in her step. She took off the flannel shirt she had slept in and tossed it on the bed. It was one of a group that she had "liberated" from Clark. She used to have frequent nightmares before she had moved into the Kent farm the first time. The welcome and love that she received from that family had driven the nightmares away. When she had moved out, the nightmares had come back. For some reason she found that sleeping in Clark's flannel shirts kept the nightmares at bay. A reason she was scared to admit to herself.

Lois got dressed and walked out into the apartment. "Chloe?" she called. She heard no response and she peeked over to where Chloe's bed was afraid of what she might see. She was relieved that it was empty. "I don't think I could take seeing Jack and Chloe in the act this early in the morning," Lois said to herself. Being a protective cousin, she took out her cell-phone and called Chloe's. She spoke to Chloe who sounded a little strange; thoughtful, yet still up-beat. Not how Lois thought Chloe would sound after a night with the dashing Captain. "_Hyper or out of breath yes, but not thoughtful_," Lois mused. When Lois told her that she was going over to the farm to meet with Clark so they could research Jack, Lois heard a snort, followed by a giggle on the other end.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Chloe said half sarcastically half encouragingly. "Hold on, Jack is motioning to me…What? OK. He said he wants me to give you a hint. He says to talk with the Sheriff. Hey! That tickles…I got to go Lois, I'll talk to you later." With that Chloe hung up. Lois grabbed her keys and made her way to the Kent farm.

Lois and Clark sat across from each other at the dining room table, eating brunch. In between bites, Lois had filled in Clark on her conversation with Chloe. He listened thoughtfully and laughed when she told him about the tickling part. "_I guess Smallville is loosening up. I can't decide which I like more, his laugh or those cute blushes he gets."_ Lois thought. She looked at his blue eyes and decided she would just work at getting more of both from her friend. "_I just wish the boy-scout could love something as worthless as me, be something more than friends, but that will never happen. I still can't believe I have him as a friend."_ Lois contemplated.

"Lois, you in there? I said can you hand me that dish," Clark said looking at his friend in concern.

"I heard you the first time," Lois lied. "I'm just trying to digest all that food you forced on me." She helped him take care of the dishes. "Where do you want to start? I thought we could head over to the Sheriff's office later this afternoon. Until then?" Clark shrugged his shoulders, giving Lois the reins. He had learned that when working on a story, they did their best with her taking lead and him acting as support.

"Well, we don't have Chloe's magical touch to fall back on, but I guess we should see what he can find on the internet. Crap, I forgot my laptop at the apartment," Lois said.

"No problem. We can share mine. It's not like we are on a tight deadline. It's set up in the living room, come on," Clark said.

Lois and Clark plopped down next to each other on the couch. By necessity they were shoulder to shoulder. Lois noticed how Clark smelled. "_You know, Smallville doesn't really need any of what Jack was wearing. He smells …right. Jack smells sexy, Smallville smells like strength and safety_," Lois thought. "_Focus, Lois!" _"I think we should start that 'T' symbol on his SUV. He said he had problems with the SUV on his last job. I've never seen that symbol as a vehicle manufacturer emblem before. I'm guessing it has to be the emblem of his company."

Clark looked at her and smiled, "Lois, I knew there was I reason I always let you take charge. You're brilliant. I totally overlooked the emblem."

Lois looked away from Clark, embarrassed by the compliment, "Don't forget it Smallville." She typed the search criteria into the search engine. Instantly the computer came back with a result. "It says that this is the symbol for something called 'Torchwood'. Now all we have to do is figure out what that is and we have a free dinner in the bag, Smallville. From the way Chloe and Jack made it sound I thought this would be difficult," Lois snorted.

"_Torchwood…I got to say this for Jack, he sure can hold down a job. I wonder what kind of recognition you get for being at the same organization for over a hundred years?"_ Clark wondered.

Two hours later Clark sat up straight and stretched. "Lois, we need to take a break. We aren't getting anywhere. Whoever or whatever this Torchwood is has set up more twists, turns, and fake paths than the maze at the Luthor castle."

Lois straightened up, arched her back, and rolled her shoulders back, stretching as well. Clark was thankful Lois had her eyes closed as she was doing this, because there was no way he could not stare in appreciation. If Lois had caught him ogling her, he would never hear the end of it. Lois noticed that things had become awfully quiet and she opened her eyes and looked over at Clark, who stood suddenly, "Shelby needs to be let out."

"She's in the barn isn't she?" Lois asked. She noticed Clark was blushing slightly. She knew full well what he had been staring at.

"Yeah, but I don't want her making a mess in the loft. I'll be back in a few. When I get back, want a soda?" Clark asked as he walked out the door.

"Take your time, Smallville," Lois chuckled to Clark's retreating back. Lois closed out of the internet browser and was about to shut the laptop when a folder caught her eye. "_Poetry? Smallville likes poetry?"_ Lois thought to herself. She couldn't help herself. She opened the folder, and started scrolling through the documents and realized these were written by Clark. She looked over to the door and made sure Clark wasn't coming in yet. She saw a sub-folder labeled "Love" and a wicked smile came over her face. She opened it up and saw there were files from dating from his freshman year to the present. She read one of the first ones and wasn't surprised it was about Lana. Lois rolled her eyes. The verse was horrid and it didn't scan at all. She looked for something more recent. She opened up a file and started to read it. This poem was very, different from the first. The poem was passionate and heartfelt. She was so shocked at how much better it was from the first that she almost missed her name in the poem. She froze. She read the poem again. The poem was about her. She read another recent poem and saw it was also about her. The third poem she read involved her and Clark. She blushed at the intensity. "_Can Smallville really think this way about me?" _Lois felt butterflies in her stomach. She closed the folders right before Clark came into the kitchen. He grabbed two sodas and sat down next to her. Lois accepted the soda and punched him in the arm while wearing a warm smile. "Thanks, Smallville," Lois said. Clark noticed her voice was softer than usual.

"Do you want to go see the Sheriff?" Clark asked?

"_No, I want to make out on the couch," _Lois thought. "Sure, you get to drive."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Lois climbed the stairs to the apartment she shared with Chloe. She was exhausted. Tracking down the Sheriff had taken all afternoon and part of the evening. They had eventually found her at the local State Patrol office using their computers. The Sheriff had been very shocked when they had asked her about Jack Harkness. She was even more shocked when they told her that it was Jack himself that suggested they talk to her about him. They jokingly explained to her about the wager to have Jack pick up the tab for a night out on the town if they could figure out what he did in his most recent job. The Sheriff had looked from Clark to Lois and told them that she had received a hit on the International Anti-Terrorism Watch List when she had ran Jack's name earlier that morning on her car's computer. _"I can't believe it. Jack a terrorist? Why would he tell us to contact the Sheriff?" _Lois had thought. The Sherriff had handed Lois a copy of a computer printout and told Lois to read it. Lois read the printout:

**INTERNATIONAL ANTI-TERRIORISM WATCH LIST**

**/WARNING/WARNING/WARNING/**

**THE INDIVIDUAL YOU QUERIED [ HARKNESS, JACK (CAPTAIN) ] IS NOT TO BE DETAINED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. HARKNESS IS TO BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. **

**IF THIS QUERY IS BEING MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FROM A UNITED NATIONS MEMBER COUNTRY (EXCEPT THE UNITED STATES) ANY REQUESTS MADE BY THIS INDIVIDUAL ARE TO BE ROUTED IMMEDIATELY TO LOCAL UNIT HEADQUARTERS. IF CIRCUMSTANCES ARE SUCH THAT TIME DOES NOT ALLOW THIS, YOU ARE TO FOLLOW HIS ORDERS AND ARE COVERED UNDER UNIT REGULATIONS 1-2: THE COMPANION CLAUSE.**

**LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE STRONGLY SUGGESTED TO FOLLOW THE ABOVE GUIDELINES EVEN THOUGH THE UNITED STATES IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE UNIT TREATY.**

The Sheriff had told them she had spent all afternoon at the State's computers trying to learn more about Harkness and UNIT. She told them that UNIT stood for United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. She had called the nearest UNIT center in Canada requesting information on Regulation 1-2. The Colonel she talked to shed no light on the enigma that had shown up in her county. The Colonel had said that Regulation 1 dealt with a man named the Doctor and how he had acting command of UNIT during any crisis whenever he bothered to show up. Regulation 1-2 said that any and all help would be given to any companion of this so called Doctor. When he asked who the companion was, she told him. The man had laughed and called him a "bloody, sexy bastard who cheats at strip poker." When the Colonel quit chuckling, he warned the Sheriff to be careful. He told her that wherever Jack went, trouble followed; big trouble.

It was with these thoughts racing through her head that she made it to the door. She hesitated, her hand at the door knob. She had seen Jack's SUV in the parking lot and guessed he was probably in the apartment. Chloe's bed was directly to the right of the entrance and in plain view from the main room of the apartment. She had walked in on Chloe and Jimmy on more than one occasion when coming home from work. Lois did admit to herself that she was curious to see if Jack could possibly be as good looking without clothes as he was with them on. She smiled to herself, turned the knob, and confidently strode into the room. The words she heard Chloe say made her cover her eyes with her hands instantly.

"Oh god Jack, there is NO way I'm putting that thing in my mouth after where you just stuck it. Besides, it's too big, I'd choke," Chloe said.

"Oh god…oh god…oh god…" Lois muttered.

"Hey Lois, want to join us?" Jack asked.

Lois kept her eyes closed, but dropped her hands as she brought her shoulders up to her ears in her biggest "ewww, gross" cringe of her life. "_That voice didn't come from Chloe's bed, it came from the table. Damn Chloe, I have to eat there,"_ Lois thought. Lois slowly turned towards the kitchen. Curiosity got the better of her and Lois peeked out of one eye. Jack was sitting across from Chloe at the kitchen table, both fully dressed. Chinese take-out boxes were scatted around the table. Jack was holding a large egg-roll at the end of his chopsticks. It looked like two different types of dipping sauces were stuck to one end.

Chloe was looking at her cousin with utter confusion. "What's up Lois, I thought you loved Chinese food. Jack bought enough to feed an army. Come on, join us."

Lois wondered about the possibility of death by embarrassment. Her fears of impending mortality got worse when she saw Jack mouthing silently to himself what Chloe had said earlier. His eyes crinkled and the sides of his mouth turned up. He looked down at his egg-roll. He motioned it towards Lois, "Egg-roll, Lois? Chloe is the only one so far to resist my secret dipping sauce," Jack said while he raised his eyebrows suggestively. Lois blushed for the first time in recent memory.

"Come on Lois, like I said, enough for an army," Chloe said.

The only thing that saved Lois was Chloe's comment about an army. It brought her mind back to the information she had gathered from the Sheriff and off her current situation. Lois knew a little bit about UNIT from being dragged around Europe by the General. General Lane was always complaining about certain operations being taken over UNIT. He loathed the fact that they were able to do that, but he had the utmost respect for their special ops teams. He had had the opportunity to see one of them in action up close and he had gone on and on about it for weeks. He had told Lois that the team he had seen had been made up of the best of the best of their respective home countries Special Forces. Lois motioned for Chloe, "Can I talk to you for a moment, in private?" Chloe looked at Jack and they shared a knowing smile. Chloe leaned over the table and gave Jack a small kiss on the cheek and followed Lois out of the apartment. Lois shut the door and handed Chloe the printout. "I think you should read this."

Chloe read the printout and handed it back to Lois. "I guess they know he's back now. I wonder how long before someone from his last job comes looking for him?" Chloe said as she shrugged her shoulders. Lois only looked at her in shock. "Jack told me everything thing today, well at least everything that doesn't put others in jeopardy. Relax Lois, Jack's one of the good guys. He has been one for a very long time. By the way, you're on the right track if you want to win that night out. I will give you an extra hint. He never has and never will work for UNIT. In fact, UNIT isn't too fond of the folks he used to work with. Although from what I hear, there have been a few UNIT personnel who _are_ fond of Jack. Now come on, let's get something to eat," Chloe said.

"Hold on," Lois said. "Is he staying the night?"

"Oh, yeah!" Chloe exclaimed breathlessly.

Lois didn't think she would ever be able to eat an egg-roll again without blushing. "I'm going to leave you two love birds alone. I'll stay a Smallville's place tonight. He could always use a good night on the couch," Lois said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

As Lois and Clark walked into the Daily Planet, Clark thought about last night. Lois had shown up on Clark's doorstep last night and informed him he was sleeping on the couch. She told him what Chloe had said about Jack being one of the good guys. Clark had to bite his tongue from spilling the beans about what he knew about Captain Jack Harkness; that Jack had been one of the good guys for over a hundred years. Explaining to Lois that he had got this information from a shared full sensory memory experience with his biological, alien father who by chance just happened to be dead was not a good idea.

Chloe had told Lois that Jack had shared his secrets with her Chloe had also said that someone from Jack's old job would probably come looking for him. Clark was shocked at the idea of knowing someone for only a day and sharing your _secret_ with them. He had kept his from those he cared for and it had driven them away. Clark thought, "_His secret must not be as big as mine. I mean he is human. At least I think he is. Although if I had to guess from my Jor-El memory, I would guess he's not from around these parts."_

Clark continued thinking about secrets and was surprised when they reached their desks. Chloe was sitting at Lois's desk holding two pencils in front of her. She was staring at them moving them along different axis, aligning them at different angles, her brow furrowed. She was lost in thought and jumped when Lois tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Chloe. What are you doing here? I thought you would be snuggled in bed with Captain flashing white teeth," Lois said.

"I had some work with Oliver this morning so Jack and I drove in to Metropolis early. He wanted to look around town and I thought I would grab breakfast with my two best buds before I meet with Oliver," Chloe said. "Lois and I can go down to the café, grab some pastries and the required caffeinated beverages, and bring them back here. My treat for making you two put up with each other last night."

Lois linked her arm in her shorter cousin's, "You're on. Clark we will be back. Chloe is going to fill me in on the details of her torrid night with the dashing Captain. It's not for your delicate farm boy ears." With that she strode off arm in arm with her shorter cousin's.

Clark watched them walk down the hallway and admired Lois' legs as she walked. He was absently mindedly tapping a pencil on the side of desk. _"Delicate farm boy ears, whatever," _Clark thought. He used his super-hearing to ease drop on their conversation.

"What was with the pencil thing back there when we first arrived? It looked like you were trying to figure out some 3D math problem," Lois asked.

Chloe replied in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Oh, well you see last night for obvious reasons, my scientific mind had checked out. Now that I can make coherent thoughts other than '_MORE… YES, and OH, GOD JACK_!' I was trying to figure out how some of the more…ah…unique positions we tried were possible."

Clark missed the table with his pencil and ended up impaling it in the floor. He looked around to make sure to one had noticed. Clark retrieved his pencil and placed his backpack over the hole. When the women came back, Clark had heard them two floors above in the elevator. This time he did not listen to their conversation, he just wanted to make sure he was composed and didn't tip off Lois that he had been able to hear anything from that far away. The elevator opened and both women were giggling. They came to the desks and sat down with their tray of pastries and coffee. Clark saw them trying to maintain their composure and couldn't resist, "Should I even ask?"

Chloe blushed and both women said in unison, "NO!"

"Smallville, take it from me, there are some things you are better off not knowing." She gave a teasing glance at Chloe. Lois was interrupted by their new copy intern, whose name Lois could never remember.

"Mr. Kent, I wasn't able to dig up much on Torchwood after you called this weekend," the intern said.

"Good thinking, Smallville. Get the troops to do the work for you. Now you know why I keep you around," Lois said.

Clark ignored the jab. He faced the intern."Well it was worth a shot, I really appreciate you looking into it," Clark said.

"No problem. It was pretty slow around here and it gave me something to do. The only thing I was able to find was that all the conspiracy boards say Torchwood is based in Cardiff, Wales. What they say Torchwood is ranges from an elite group that the government uses to erase people's memories to a group that chase aliens," the intern chuckled. "On a different note Mr. Kent, I heard you graduated from Met U. I'm going there now."

"That's great. What's your favorite class?" Clark asked.

"That's easy. History with Professor Milton Fines. He came back from sabbatical and took over his classes again. He's a great teacher. I have a class with him this afternoon," the intern said. Chloe gave Clark a terrified look and then motioned with her head towards outside.

Chloe pretended to look down at her watch. "Oh crap, I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sorry guys, but I've got to run to make my meeting," she said.

Clark took the hint. "No problem, Chloe, thanks for the breakfast. I'll walk you out."

As they walked to the stairs, Lois sighed as she watched Clark walk away, "That's my Smallville, always the gentleman."

When Chloe and Clark got out of sight of Lois, they ducked into a conference room. "Shit, Clark! I thought you said Brainiac was taken to the future," Chloe said. She was shaking from her fear. She had been possessed by Brainiac before and didn't think she could mentally survive it again. "Oh god! Jack! He said he was going to tour the city today. He wanted to start at Met U. He said he always got a kick out of what they were teaching in History and Physics. If Brainiac finds him and possesses him, he will be unstoppable. Jack needs your help, Clark. He knows all about you so you can use your powers in front of him. I didn't tell him, I swear."

"I know, Chloe," Clark said reassuringly. "I shared a memory with Jor-El at the Fortress. I know Jack is more than he seems. Don't worry, Chloe, I'll protect him. Head to the watchtower and wait for us. I don't know how long this will take." Clark super-sped out of the room and grabbed his backpack from his desk. He was moving faster than a human eye could see, so he wasn't worried about Lois seeing him. He changed in the supply closet into his Red and Blue Blur clothes. As he ran to Met U. he wondered about what Chloe had meant about the combination of Jack and Brainiac being unstoppable.

When Clark got to the university he made his way to the history building. Clark went to Prof. Fines' classroom and looked in from a rear exit door with a window. Class was in session. Clark wondered what to do. He couldn't barge in while Brainiac was at the front of class lecturing. In a confined area there were too many innocent people that could get hurt in a fight between him and Brainiac. Plus, there was a very good chance Brainiac would knock him around hard enough to slow him down so everyone could see him. Clark decided to wait until he could take on Brainiac in an open area and push him away from people. He called Lois and told her he had a lead on one of the stories they were working on and that he would be back in the office later. Clark used his super-hearing to listen in on the class.

"Alexander of Macedonia, or as he is commonly known Alexander the Great. Quite a name he chose for himself, 'The Great.' You see old Alex fancied handsome, strapping lads like myself and if you were to ask those he took to his bed; they might have called him 'Alexander the Somewhat Adequate'," The class chuckled. "While he did lack any reasonable prowess in-between the sheets, he did manage to conquer most of what at that time was considered the known world." Fines continued through the class like this, giving a slightly different, but much more human version of past events. His off color remarks had kept the class laughing and their attention focused on him. Clark wondered about what kind of upgrades the Legion had done to Brainiac before he had escaped. Brainiac could laugh before, but was never one to tell jokes.

When the class let out, Clark watched the students file out of the front door. There was one person left sitting in the back where Clark could not get a good look at them. Fines was at the front podium collecting his notes. The man at the back stood and walked to the front of the classroom. Clark recognized the WWII era overcoat. He was about to intercede when he heard Jack speak, "You know, it _was_ your idea to call him 'The Great'. You said it would boost his ego."

Fines' head snapped up to look at the man standing in front of him. "Well, he _was_ horrible in bed and I had to come up with _something_ to boost his confidence, or the con would have never gone down," Fines said, a smile creeping across his face.

"I wouldn't know. For some reason I can't fathom, even to this day, that guy always chose you to go bed with, instead of me. The man had no taste," Jack complained. He was returning the smile on Fines' face. The men stepped forward and embraced in a passionate kiss. When they released their embrace Jack joked, "Well at least you still taste pretty good."

"Welcome back. I wasn't sure if you were even coming back to this planet. Gwen called me looking for you and told me what had happened with the '454'," Fines said. "I'm sorry to hear about 'Eye Candy', I know how much he meant to you, and I can't imagine what you went through concerning your grandson. You know I'm always here if you need someone. Speaking of the '454', were you able to track them down?"

Clark could see a tear on Jack's cheek," Yeah, I found them. It took me a couple of years, but I found them. They won't be a problem for Earth or anyone else, ever," Jack's voice had taken on a hardness that sent chills down Clark spine. He had heard Brainiac speak with that same kind of cold, contempt and knew that Brainiac had been capable of wiping out civilizations.

"Enough with downers, what's new? Where are you staying? Are you seeing anyone?" the last question was asked on a hopeful note. "Come on tell me everything," Fines said. Clark was dumbfounded. He couldn't get his head wrapped around the idea of Brainiac chatting away and gossiping like a high school girl. Fines and Jack had sat, leaning against a desk along the front wall.

"I came back because I was asked to by my _Doctor,"_ Jack said.

"Figures. Oh well, I guess if you save the Universe a couple times, you deserve a favor or two. I suppose even I would do what he told me to," Fines said.

"He asked me to come back. He said I was needed at this time, so he brought me now," Jack made an open gesture with his hands.

"Brought me now," Fines repeated. "Doesn't sound quite right in English. Time travel always makes sentence structures sound awkward. Guess that's why we never used it at the agency," Fines said.

"Thank you for that brief lecture, Professor Fines, or may I call you _Milton,"_ Jack teased.

Fines pointed a finger at Jack, "Don't you start, _Harkness!_" Both men laughed. "Now as the senior remaining field agent, I order you to tell me all the juicy facts of you love life. How long have you been back?"

Jack laughed, "I've only been planet side for a couple of days, but I am in a relationship with a truly wonderful woman. It's special, it feels like what I had with Ianto. I actually fell asleep with her one time."

Clark saw disappointment cross Fines face momentarily, before he forced a smile back. "A girlfriend, huh. That's something new." Fines cocked his head and said with mock horror, "Oh god, tell me it's not Gwen. Please, for the love of the vortex, tell me it isn't Gwen. Those teeth, man. You were in charge of Torchwood, couldn't you set up a decent dental plan?" Fines asked.

"No, it's not Gwen. She's married to Rhys, remember. I met this woman in Smallville," Jack said.

"Since when has been married ever been a factor to either of us?" Fines joked. "It's been a while since you were with a woman. What have your dates been like?" Fines asked.

"Well let's see. Our _first _date was her driving me around Smallville showing me the town. It is always interesting to see how places change after a hundred years or so. Our second date was later that evening. We went bowling and let me tell you…" Jack's sentence was cut off by a right hook to his jaw.

"BOWLING! BOWLING! You bastard that was _our _game, our special game!" Fines yelled. He threw another punch at Jack, but blocked it with his forearm.

"Let me explain…" Jack tried to say.

"Like hell!" Fines spat back. He brought his left leg around behind Jack's right and swept in out from under him. Jack fell backwards and rolled away from the kick Fines had aimed at his ribs. Clark started to race in when he noticed that Jack was smiling. Clark stood with the door open, confused and unsure of what he was seeing. Jack rolled to his feet and feinted with his left hand. Fines dropped his guard to block the fake blow and was rewarded with a punch to the stomach. Fines bent over slightly from the blow and used his new position to rabbit punch Jack in the kidney. Jack grunted and punched Fines in the face. Fines wobbly spun to the side and placed a side kick to Jack's middle. Jack was pushed back and struggled to regain the air that had been knocked out of him. Fines was crouched in fighting stance, blinking his eyes and shaking his head to clear it. Blood flowed from his nose. Jack's lip was bleeding.

When Jack was able to breathe, he began speaking, annunciating each word carefully, "We had our clothes on."

"Oh," Fines said in a surprised voice. He stood up from a fighting stance into a normal, casual stance. "That's completely different." Fines straightened his tweed jacket.

"What?" Clark silently mouthed. He had watched the fight begin and now end and had no idea of what was going on. "_Brainiac and Jack are ex-lovers. That's too weird, even for Smallville_," Clark thought. Clark's attempt to figure things out were put on hold when he saw Fines grin and reach inside his jacket for something. Clark super-sped down to the front and pinned Fines against the wall, holding him up with one hand clenched in the front of shirt. The other hand was cocked over his shoulder ready to pummel Brainiac. "What are doing back here? How did you escape, Brainiac?" Clark demanded.

Fines craned his head to look around Clark's large frame and spoke with Jack. The fact that Clark was holding him 2 feet off of the ground didn't seem to bother him. "Brainiac? Should I feel complimented or insulted?" he asked Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

Clark turned his head to look at Jack, still pinning Fines to the wall. "Jack, I don't know what your relationship is with this thing, but it took over Chloe's body and almost killed her. She still has nightmares about it. This thing has caused the death of a lot of people. I want answers now!" Clark yelled.

Jack glared at Fines with pure anger at the thought of him hurting Chloe. Then his face softened and he began to chuckle. "Clark, as much as I enjoy seeing John get his ass kicked, being punched by you would kill him. He is still my friend. His name is Captain John Hart. John is capable of some really underhanded things, but possessing someone is not one of them. I don't think he's this Brainiac thing you keep calling him. What is a Brainiac?" Jack asked.

"Brainiac stands for Brain Interactive Construct. A Kryptonian artificial intelligence my father developed before the planet was destroyed. It was made to fight Zod, but it turned on him and fought for Zod instead," Clark explained.

"Oh well, that explains things," John said in disgust. Clark turned his head back around to face him and glared. John spoke again, but this time in a nicer tone, "No, really, I mean it. That explains things. I was on Krypton doing a job and came across these scientists. Their AI wasn't working. It had accepted their Kryptonian DNA into its nanostructures, but it kept crashing. The DNA was breaking down from some of the accelerated processes the nanites were doing. I recognized all they needed was some DNA that had been exposed to temporal radiation and therefore immune to the changes. I told them to give me a month and I would track down the perfect DNA strands. They paid me quite handsomely."

"You went to a bar for a month and came back with your own DNA, didn't you," Jack said.

"Of course I did! I promised them the perfect DNA, and my DNA has been exposed to more temporal radiation than they had ever seen."

"Let him down, Clark," Jack sighed. Clark eased John to the ground.

"I saw you reach for something in your coat pocket, what was it?" Clark asked as he put John down.

John reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and slowly pulled out a flask. "It's sort of become a ritual for us when we see each other after a long time apart. We kiss, we fight, we drink." John unscrewed the cap and took a swig. He offered the flask to Clark who shook his head, "Your loss." He handed the flask to Jack who took a drink and handed it back. John screwed the lid back on. He looked at Clark,"You said you were Kryptonian? That means you're …" He was about to say something but shut his mouth at a hand signal from Jack. Clark had noticed it. "Sorry about Krypton, kid. For the most part they were good people. Except for that prick Zod. Even _I_ wouldn't sell that guy weapons. He got real pissed at that and I had leave fast."

Clark had too much to process. "My head hurts. I have to get back to the Planet. Jack, Chloe is waiting for you at the old clock tower in the center of town. She's worried about you. John, is it?" John nodded. "You must have classes soon _and_ you just creep me the hell out, so you stay here."

John and Jack laughed. John pretended to be offended, "Whatever you say you corn fed mountain of sexiness." Clark super-sped out of the classroom back to the Daily Planet. John looked at Jack, "Clark, a Kryptonian living in Kansas. Last of his kind. Wouldn't that make him…?" John drew a letter "S" on his chest.

"Yep. That's the one," Jack confirmed. "How do you know about this?"

"Long story, happened right after you got tossed from the agency. I'll explain over a couple of pints someday." John looked at the direction Clark had gone. "Where's the tights and cape?"

"That's why I'm back," Jack said. "They're late."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Clark hung up the phone. He had called Chloe to give her a heads up that she didn't have to worry about Brainiac and that it was someone else impersonating Professor Fines. Her sigh of relief made Clark glad he could still do things to protect her. When she asked who the person was, Clark had told her that she would have to ask Jack because he wasn't sure he understood it all. He told her Jack would be at the clock tower soon.

Clark shook off his feelings of weirdness over Jack's personal life. He had seen the anger in his eyes when he had heard that Brainiac had hurt Chloe. Clark was nearly invincible, but even he never wanted to be at the receiving end of Jack in that mood. If Jack felt that protective of Chloe, then Jack had just proved himself of how worthy a friend he was to Clark. Besides, Chloe genuinely liked the guy, and as much as Clark hated to admit it, Jack was fun to be around. Clark felt much better and asked Lois if she wanted lunch. She glanced up from her computer, looked at her watch, and agreed to eat.

Lunch had been a pleasant surprise for Lois. She and Clark ate lunch together often, but this time there had been more playful banter than usual. Clark had joked about Jack, but not in a mean spirited way. His comments were inclusive, adding Jack to his circle of friends. She was pleased to see her Kansas farm boy friend take such a liberal attitude. She had gently teased him about it and watched him blush. As they were walking down the stairs to the bullpen, they passed two women who were having a conversation on the landing. One of them was a very pretty black woman dressed in black slacks, a red shirt and a black jacket. Lois recognized the look in her eyes and her general posture. This woman was not only a combat veteran, but a leader of troops. The other woman was white and she could definitely use some orthodontic work. She was wearing jeans, a white blouse, and a black leather jacket that hung just slightly wrong. Lois had enough contacts on the police force to recognize an undercover jacket when she saw one. Most people did not know what to look for, but they were cut just slightly different to hide sidearms. Lois stopped and pretended to adjust the strap on her shoe, "Go ahead, Clark. I'll catch up in a moment," Lois said. Clark nodded.

"Sure thing, Lane," Clark replied letting her know he caught the use of his first name rather than the nickname she always used. Lois continued to fidget with the strap just inside earshot of the women.

"I really don't think he's here," the black woman said with an English accent.

"Probably not, but the last computer query on him came from here. Then again did you see that guy who walked past with the black hair? He was gorgeous. He might show up here after all. Either way we have to see what they know," the other woman said with a Welsh accent.

Lois stood up and straightened her skirt. She guessed that these were some of the people Jack had said would be coming. She walked up to the women and said, "I am sorry to interrupt but I heard you ladies talking. I was an Army Brat and grew up in Europe." Lois indicated to the Welsh woman. "You're from Wales, right? Cardiff maybe? My name is Lois Lane, I'm a reporter here." Lois stuck out her hand. She was trying to appear less intense than she normally was.

"My name Gwen Cooper and this is my friend Dr. Martha Jones-Smith. You have no idea how good it is to have someone here recognize me as not being bloody English, no offense Martha. You're really good with accents. I am from Cardiff," Gwen said.

"What brings you to the Daily Planet?" Lois asked sweetly.

"We're on holiday here in Metropolis and couldn't resist seeing the famous Daily Planet building. It really is quite beautiful," Martha said.

Lois' dropped her welcoming act. "Really, I didn't think Torchwood gave vacations." The other women looked shocked. Before they could recover, Lois pointed to the conference room. "Conference room...15 minutes...both of you," she ordered. Lois spun around and walked to her desk, not bothering to look behind. She knew she was in a power game right now and she was making sure these Brits who were looking for her friend knew their place.

Clark had heard the whole conversation by way of his super-hearing. He always knew Lois was a great reporter, but every time he got to watch her in full stride, it took his breath away. She was using her talents to keep those two off balance to give Lois and him time to formulate plan. He knew she would never do a story on Jack, but those women didn't. Lois walked up to his desk. "Those two ladies on the stairs are from Torchwood. I shook them up by calling them on it. We have 15 minutes to get a hold Chloe and warn Jack," Lois said. She took out her cell-phone and called Chloe. Clark could hear both sides of the conversation.

"Hi, Lois. What's up?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe, you have to warn Jack. Some people from Torchwood are here at the Planet looking for him," Lois said.

There was a pause while Clark could barely make out Chloe and Jack talking. "Lois, Jack wants to know what they look like," Chloe said.

"I can do better than that. Their names are Gwen Cooper and Dr. Martha Jones-Smith," Lois said.

There was another pause as Chloe relayed that information to Jack and Jack discussed things with Chloe. Clark didn't need super-hearing to hear Chloe through the phone as she yelled at Jack. "What? You didn't even bother to call them to let them know you were back. You'll be lucky if they don't decide to kill you, at separate times." Chloe's voice went back to a normal. "Sorry, Lois. I didn't mean to burst your eardrums there. Captain forgetful didn't bother to call his two best friends, on this planet, when he got back. He deserves whatever they come up with. Yes, I did say you deserve it, now leave me alone. I'm mad at you, Jack. Lois, tell them we'll meet them at the Talon tonight. Jack says they can be trusted. Stop that! That tickles...Lois, I have to go. I'll see you tonight." Lois hung up her cell-phone. Clark remembered to look at her expectantly.

"Jack says they're friends. Chloe and Jack want to meet them tonight at the Talon. Chloe expects Jack to be in the doghouse with them. Apparently he didn't check in whenever he got back from wherever he was," Lois said. She smiled, "Since we know that they're not hostiles, let's go pump them for information. I feel like making Jack pay through the nose for our night out considering all the work we've been doing." She got up and led Clark to the conference room.

Gwen and Martha had been discussing things in nervous tones. Whoever this Lois Lane person was good at getting information. If she was tracking Jack, he might be in trouble. If the wrong people got their hands on hands on him, he would spend a lot of painful time in a laboratory. Martha thought about the year that never was and all of the torture Jack had been put to at the hands of the Master. She vowed to protect her friend, right after she kicked his ass for not letting her know that he was back. The woman looked up when Lois Lane and the man they had been admiring walked in. The man was well over 6 feet tall and built like a Greek god.

"This is my partner, Clark Kent. I take it you're here looking for Captain Harkness?" Lois asked. Gwen nodded. Gwen was impressed at how this woman took control of the situation. "Before we go any further, I want you two to know that this is off the record. We're here as friends of Jack's, not reporters. With that said, there are some questions we would like answered before we tell you anything about his whereabouts," Lois said. Martha smiled. Gwen nodded her head in agreement. "Good, first question is what the hell is Torchwood?"

Gwen's jaw dropped. Martha clapped her hands once, and rocked back in her chair, laughing. "Brilliant! You were bluffing from the beginning. Good job, Miss Lane."

Gwen was less amused, "If you don't already know, I don't see why I should tell you."

Clark gave the visiting women his trademark, boyish smile. "Well it would help us win a bet. Jack bet us a night out on the town if we could figure out what he did in his last job. We already figured out it had something to do with Torchwood based on the emblem off of his SUV. We could sure use your help," Clark implored.

Martha and Gwen looked at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. Gwen said in her Welsh accent, "Oh yes, that is definitely our Jack. Only he would do something like that. All right, I'll tell you. We hunt aliens." Gwen used her police training and watched their reactions. Lois snickered, but Clark's reaction was different. His jaw had tightened slightly and his eyes had narrowed by just the smallest of amounts. His wasn't the reaction of someone who didn't believe her, it was one of someone who didn't approve. "I'm serious, Lois. Torchwood was set up to chase aliens and make sure they aren't a threat to humanity. Up until about a year and a half ago, Jack was in charge. He left after some devastating personal losses. We lost track of him a year ago. Martha and I really are Jack's friends and we just want to make sure he is all right. When he left...we weren't sure he was going to make it." Gwen had started to tear up. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue from a box on the table. "Sorry, look at me. All teary. If you tell him, I'll hurt you," she said with a gentle smile through her tears.

"We would like to see him," Martha said plainly.

"There is a town South of here called Smallville. On Main Street there is a coffee house called the Talon. Meet us there at around 7," Lois said.

It was around 6:30 in the evening when Gwen and Martha arrived at the Talon in their rental car. They took a table where they could see the front door. They didn't see Lois walk down the stairs and come up to their table. "Making sure the exits are covered?" Lois asked politely. Gwen flinched and muttered something under her breath in what Lois assumed was Welsh. Martha simply turned to face her and smile. Lois revised her earlier impression of the women. The woman Martha was _definitely_ a combat veteran, but for Gwen to only flinch rather that jump out of her chair when startled; that showed she had seen her share of action as well.

"Lois, have you ever thought about a job in the _field_? We could always use someone of your talents. Either UNIT or Torchwood." Martha inquired.

"No thanks. I'm happy where I'm at. I love being a reporter," Lois said. "There is something else you should know. Jack is in a relationship now. He is seeing..." Lois said but was interrupted by Gwen.

"He's seeing that Greek god you were with earlier today isn't he? Jack always did have good taste, well except for John. But that man you were with, who wouldn't want to shag his brains out. I bet Jack had him in bed the first night," Gwen blurted out.

Lois had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. "_Oh god, this is priceless. Clark is going to be here any second. We planned on being here for at least 15 minutes before Jack and Chloe get here. This is going to be so much fun, and I'll get to tease him about it for months," _Lois thought. "Listen, I can't say whether Clark is or isn't with Jack. It's not my place. But I do know that if Clark were with Jack, it would be the first time he was with a man, and might be a little uncomfortable with it still," Lois said. _"I didn't lie. I just didn't tell them the truth." _Clark had the unfortunate timing to walk into the Talon at that moment. He saw Lois, Martha, and Gwen sitting at a table. He was too concerned for his friend to notice that of three smiles the women were wearing; Lois had the one that always spelled embarrassment for him.

"Here, Clark, sit next to me," Gwen said as she patted the chair next to her. Clark sat down next to her, his famous Kent smile flashing. "I'm glad we have a chance to talk before Jack gets here. You know we've been friends with Jack for quite a while and know all about him?" Gwen asked.

"Well, with you working together as a team I figured as much," Clark replied.

"Good, good. There is something we need to talk about. You see Lois told us your secret, but we already kinda knew," Gwen said in a reassuring voice. The color drained out of Clark's face.

"_Oh this is better than I thought. He totally has that deer in a headlight expression. He must realize they think he's gay," _Lois thought. She had to cover her mouth to hide her grin.

Clark's blood turned to ice water. "_Oh god, how did Lois find out my secret? Was I careless using my powers at the farm and she saw me? Did I forget to use the voice changer when I called her as the Blur? Why did she tell strangers my secret?" _Clark thought in a panic.

Martha joined in, "It's nothing to be ashamed about, Clark. You were just born different."

"_Lois knows everything. She even knows I'm an alien. Did Chloe tell her?" _Clark thought. His palms began to sweat; he looked to Lois who gave him an innocent smile.

"With how the world is today, we understand why you wouldn't want the world to know, but we've known Jack for years and we want you to feel that you can be yourself around us. Trust me, Jack has made us pretty shock proof," Martha said.

"_What do I say? This is not how I imagined this conversation to go with Lois. I can't believe she shared my secret!" _Clark bemoaned to himself.

Clark was saved from having to come up with a reply by Jack and Chloe coming into the talon, hand in hand. "Who is that with Jack?" Martha asked.

"That is Chloe, my cousin. The person Jack is in a relationship with," Lois said with a smirk.

"But…but…Clark…Lois, you led us to believe that Clark was his boyfriend," Gwen complained. Clark let out a huge sigh of relief.

"No, you just assumed he was Jack's boyfriend. I never said he was. I just never said he wasn't. He is totally straight by the way. Besides, it is just too much fun to yank Smallville's chain," Lois admitted. She absent mindedly placed a possessive hand over Clark's. She noticed it and yanked her hand away.

Clark looked accusingly at Lois, "You set me up!"

"And knocked you down, Smallville," Lois said with smug satisfaction.

Martha leaned over to Gwen, "Girlfriend, huh? You know, we should have seen this one coming. We knew he was an omni-sexual and he hasn't been with a woman in quite a while." Martha became quiet as the man who helped her and the Doctor erase the year the never was saunter up to their table. "_One thing I'll give him, that man sure knows how to walk," _she thought.

Jack smiled his most charming smile, causing even Gwen and Martha to become a little flushed. "Miss me, Ladies?" he asked. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Lois and Clark had decided to move to another table to give the old team mates time to catch up. Before they did however, Lois spoke to Jack in a formal tone, "You are none other than Captain Jack Harkness, former leader of a secret British organization called Torchwood that is tasked with protecting humanity from the threat of alien invasion. One the jobs of your team is to determine if the visitors from afar are hostile and to take appropriate actions against them, up to and including deadly force. If that doesn't work, you woo them into your bed and shag them senseless." The last part she managed to say with as much of a straight face as the rest of her speil. "I believe you owe us a night out on the town."

Jack clapped his hands and flashed his perfect white teeth, "Great job, Lois. I'm very proud of how well you assimilated to the fact that there are aliens here on Earth. Most people couldn't deal with it half as well as you did." Jack shot Clark a pointed stare.

"_Why is he staring at Smallville? I thought he handled it just as well as I did,"_ Lois thought. "I watch _America's Got Talent_, half of those contestants must be aliens," Lois quipped. She stood and walked to another table with Clark in tow. Soon after Chloe followed.

"I figured Gwen and Martha needed some time alone with Jack," Chloe said. "So what do you think about them?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Lois admitted. Clark nodded his head. He remembered that Jack had told Jor-El that he often lied to his Torchwood superiors to protect other aliens and now the current head of the organization was here in Smallville. "I can tell you that I like Martha, there is something about her that impresses me. Gwen seems nice, but she just doesn't seem to be in the same league as Jack and Martha."

Chloe thought about what Jack had told her about his friends and what they meant to him. He had told her about Gwen being his second in command and being a capable member of the team. When she asked about Martha, he paused and told her the whole story. She cried along with him as he relayed what had happened to him and how Martha had saved him. Chloe decided to share a little of the information so that Lois and Clark could feel more at ease. "Lois, Jack told me all about Gwen and Martha and I should tell you a little bit about them. Jack recruited Gwen from the local police force when he caught her snooping after one of their cases. He was impressed by her work and offered her a job. She brought compassion to their team, which he said had been sorely lacking for some time. He calls her the soul of Torchwood. Jack says that he trusts the morals of Torchwood now even more than when he was in charge."

"And Martha?" Clark asked.

Chloe looked back over her shoulder at the trio of friends at the other table laughing and hugging. Martha and Gwen were crying. A tear slid down Chloe's cheek as well. "Martha and Jack saved the world after it was taken over by the British Prime Minister, who just happened to be one of the most evil aliens in the entire Universe," Chloe said. Lois and Clark looked at her blankly. "I know, I know, I didn't get the memo either. The Earth was subjected to a living hell for an entire year. Jack had been captured by this alien and subjected to unimaginable tortures. Martha led the human resistance. She was able to free Jack and another powerful alien called the Doctor. The three of them were able to stop the evil alien and reverse time so that that year never happened." Chloe paused to take a breath and again looked over her shoulder at the man she loved and his friend who had done so much for their planet. "There was a price that the three of them pay for what they did. The Doctor, Jack, and Martha are all time travelers and have become immune to paradox. Well the Doctor exists outside of time and space and was always been immune. Jack and Martha became immune by traveling with him during the event, but I think Jack might be immune for another reason that I won't talk about yet. Anyway, their immunity to paradox brings pain. While it never happened for us,_ they_ remember everything that happened. Jack and Martha refer to it as the year that never was."

Lois and Clark were stunned. Lois had suspected there were great depths to Martha and even Jack, but she had never dreamt it was anything like this. "How many times?" Lois mumbled, awe in her voice. "How many times have they saved the world?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, "Martha, 20 or 30 times I guess from what Jack tells me. Him, we haven't had time for him to tell me all the stories, but I'm guessing it's in the hundreds."

Lois couldn't say anything. She was having a hard enough time meshing the concept of her flirty friend with the leader of a top-secret, alien chasing group. Now she had to add on the fact that he was also a time traveling hero who routinely saved mankind. The moment was shattered however when Martha, the other savior of mankind, high-fived Gwen and Jack groaned loudly. Gwen motioned for them to come over. She had an evil grin on her face.

When Chloe, Lois, and Clark got back to the original table, Gwen was beaming in malicious glee. She leaned over to Clark, stood on her toes, and whispered in his ear. He laughed and nodded. Gwen addressed the rest of the gathering. She spoke in her Welsh accent, "Chloe, my wonderful and wise, new friend suggested that Martha and I come up with something to get back at Jack here for not letting us know he was back and for making us endure that dreadful flight across the pond." Chloe nodded and Jack turned a mock snarl on her. "Now Jack, behave. Like your beautiful girlfriend here said, you deserve this, so pipe down. Anyway, we have come up with the perfect punishment for our dashing Captain." Gwen paused for effect. "Jack is ever so fond of his choice in clothing. I remember how upset he got when he had to wear sweats for an entire day, so with the help of young Mr. Kent here, we will have Jack wearing a different outfit for a day."

Jack looked over at Clark and then took on a pained expression. "Oh, no. You wouldn't. That's too cruel," he pleaded.

Lois caught on, "Don't worry Jack; Smallville has plenty of _flannel_ shirts and jeans you can borrow."

Chloe covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. "Shit!" Jack muttered.

Jack had taken Martha and Gwen around Smallville during the day. They had teased him mercilessly when he had shown up at the Talon wearing a red flannel shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. He looked utterly miserable, like a whipped puppy. They laughed even more when they saw his belt. "What the hell is that? I'm pretty sure that didn't come from Clark," Gwen said. Jack was wearing a leather belt with metal studs. The belt-buckle was a Union Jack made out of rhinestones.

"It's the only belt I own. Suspender guy, remember?" Jack moaned. "Ianto gave it to me as a gag gift," he admitted.

"It's you, Jack," Martha said, trying to keep a straight face, but failing. "Come on, shopping awaits."

Around lunch time Clark showed up at the Talon. Before coming over he had gone to the farm and changed into his regular flannel work clothes. He had taken the afternoon off and offered to take Jack to lunch. He figured Jack would be miserable. He couldn't think of anything worse than being forced to shop with two women friends while dressed in something that made you uncomfortable. Gwen and Martha released their hold on Jack for the afternoon, on the condition that he stay in his current clothes for the rest of the day. Jack hung his head in submission and agreed.

Lana Luthor was driving around Smallville, watching all the little people go about their mundane business. She stopped at the local burger joint for lunch. She normally didn't eat there but had chosen it because she saw Clark's truck in the lot. She thought she would toss him a scrap of affection and watch him roll over and do tricks, begging for more. She walked in and saw Clark sitting in a booth with a man dressed similarly to him. She did a double take when she realized how similar they looked. The other man was in his late 30s to early 40s. Like Clark he was tall with black hair. They were laughing and joking together. Lana ordered her food and snuck into the booth behind them.

Clark sipped his soda, enjoying the time with Jack. His relationship with this man kept changing and he figured it probably would never have a definite category. He was acting like the younger, cool uncle that let you in on the family secrets that you never knew you had. Clark also realized he shared a bond with Jack that both men felt that would transcend time. They had both had to save the world and they knew they would probably have to do it again. They didn't do it for fame or money, they did it because it was the right thing to do.

"Tell me more about my father. What was he like?" Clark asked. From the way Clark said it Lana knew he wasn't talking about Jonathan Kent.

Lana revised her estimate on the other man's age, "_He doesn't look old enough to have known Clark's biological father. He must age well_."

"He was pretty stiff most of the time, but once he got a few phantom zones down him he became quite the party animal," Jack chuckled. Jack thought for moment. "There was this one story that takes place a _few _years before you were born that deals with a stolen vehicle. I guess I can tell it to you. I took care of the legal issues." Clark raised an eyebrow. "You see, we were the ones who stole it," Jack left the story hanging, knowing how to set up an audience.

"Come on, cough it up," Clark laughed.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. Things had been kind of rough at home, so your father had decided to take a break. He remembered our last visit and he swung by my office to see if there had been any record kept of it. I told him I would keep him out of my report, but I guess he wanted to see for himself," Jack said.

"How long had it been since you two had seen each other?" Clark asked.

"To give you an idea of how long it had been, my office had been moved next to the airport," Jack said. Clark nodded, understanding what Jack was implying. The first time Jack and Jor-El met had been in the late 1800's.

Lana hadn't been this excited in a long time. She and her husband, Lex, had been trying to figure out Clark's secret for years. Now a man tied in with Clark's biological father showed up in Smallville. Hearing him talk, it sounded like Clark's father wasn't nearly the boy-scout his son was. She couldn't wait to tell Lex. Never being patient, Lana slid out the booth, her food untouched. She quickly made her way to the exit and out to her car.

"Your father broke in and started going through the case files from that year that had my name on them. I had set up an alarm on file room that would let me know when my old files were accessed," Jack continued. "The look on his face was priceless when he saw me standing in the doorway watching him. When he got over the whole 'you haven't aged' thing, we headed back to my flat to catch up. We started comparing war stories, drinking, singing bawdy folk songs from different regions of the galaxy, and drank some more."

"We had gotten pretty sloshed and he told me that he had seen a Teglian saucer parked out near York on his way in to London. He said he thought they looked pretty silly. I agreed, but told them they were a blast to fly. One thing led to another and while the little gray pervert was probing a farmer, we swiped his ship," Jack said in between bites of his burger.

"You guys stole a space ship?" Clark asked incredulously.

"A saucer to be specific. Anyway, we were having a blast flying the thing around the planet. We kept dodging in and out of different countries radars, hovering for a few moments over towns, you know the usual pranks," Jack said. "Things went pretty good until we got to the U.S. Jor-El and I were trying to figure out how to work the stereo and I forgot that he had set the thing to ground skimming mode. Well…we weren't exactly looking where we were going and sort of clipped an electrical line. Turns out Teglian saucers aren't grounded worth a damn. We ended up crashing the thing; trashed it pretty good. Jor-El super-sped me out of there right before the Teglians dropped off the owner. He was not happy when the U. S. military showed up and took him into custody." Jack smiled wistfully.

Anytime Clark heard about another alien being taken by the military, his heart froze. "The military has a saucer and alien in their custody? When did this happen?" Clark asked.

"Come on, Clark. Everyone knows this one, July 2, 1947," Jack said.

Clark thought about the date for a moment and then began laughing so loud that the whole restaurant looked over at him. Clark brought himself under control, barely. "Are you trying to tell me that _you guys_ were the ones piloting the craft that crashed near Roswell, New Mexico?" Clark said wiping tears from his eyes.

"Considering how drunk we were, I don't think you can call what we were doing flying," Jack said with smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Clark and Jack had bummed around town for the rest of the day waiting for Lois and Chloe to get off work. They had made their way to the park at the center of town. Jack had been asking subtle questions, trying to gauge exactly how Clark felt for Lois. From what he could tell, the big goof was head over heels in love with the feisty reporter. "_Maybe feisty isn't the right word,"_ Jack thought, "_indomitable might be better. Hell, she even scares me sometimes and I can't stay dead. I'm sure she feels the same way for him, what is their problem?" _The problem was Clark wasn't ready to act on his feelings.Jack figured a less subtle approach would be called for if he was going to get things off the ground with these two. "So, Clark, Do you think Lois might be interested in a threesome?" Jack asked with all the casualness someone would ask about ice-cream flavors.

"I can't believe you just asked me that, Jack. How the hell would I know?" Clark exclaimed angrily. Clark became jealous at the thought of Jack sharing a bed with both Lois and Chloe. "I'm pretty sure Lois wouldn't go in for anything like that with her cousin." Clark noticed Jack smiling at him like the Cheshire cat.

"Gotcha! I wasn't planning on anything of the sort. I asked you that question to get a reaction out of you. Consider it a controlled experiment," Jack said. "I want you to think about what you just felt and why."

"Why should I talk to you about my feelings? No offense Jack, but we've only recently met and I don't think my personal life is any of your business," Clark said coolly.

"I can think of a lot of reasons," Jack said evenly. "For one, I can't think of any other guy in this town who was born on another planet and has a secret that he feels that he has to keep from the world." Jack folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against a tree. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking your secret is some much bigger than mine that Lois might not be able to handle it and she might reject you, right?"

Clark was stunned that Jack was able to cut straight to the matter with one sentence. Clark turned his head away from Jack and said softly, "I know you told Chloe that for some reason you are extremely old and that you're from another planet. You even told her you were a time traveler, but it's different. You're human and I'm an alien. My secret is bigger."

"You're wrong, Clark. I'm more alien than you can ever imagine. I'm something that shouldn't exist. I am a being unlike anything that has ever existed or ever will, and that is impossible. I am fixed point in time and space. I am immortal. I have been killed over 1,000 times now. I have been shot, knifed, poisoned, and all other manor of nasty ways to die including being blown up. Do you remember the terrorist bombing of the Millennium Center in Cardiff?" Jack asked. Clark nodded. "That was me. Not the terrorist, the bomb. I spent a year being tortured to death over and over again." Jack paused. "That and I'm Omni-sexual, so I think I've got your secret whipped, farm boy."

"Chloe knows everything? She's ok with it?" Clark asked, still not able to find his full voice.

"To be honest, I don't think any human can fully come to terms with their lover being immortal, but yeah, she's coping better than any of my past lovers," Jack said. He smiled and nodded towards Clark, "Thanks to you, she took the whole being from another planet thing easily. The rest fell into place. I thought with your centuries' issues with sexuality she would have a problem with my last relationship being with a man, but she only said he sounded like a wonderful man and wished she could have met him," Jack said with pride. "Chloe is truly remarkable and I am very fortunate to have found her. Don't lose your chance to be able to say that about Lois." Clark stood still, deep in thought.

"I should head back to the Talon, Chloe should be back by now and she wanted to discuss something with Lois and me," Jack said. Jack glanced down at the flannel he had been forced to wear. "Plus, I don't want to leave my lovely girlfriend alone with Martha and Gwen to long or they might come up with another slight and another punishment. Oh, and I was thinking of more along the line of me, you, and Lois with that threesome."

"I should drop you off and head back to the farm and get some chores done," Clark said as he stood up from the tree.

As they walked back to the truck, Jack stopped Clark briefly by putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Promise me you'll think about what we talked about. I mean you dating Lois, not that other thing. You're both stronger than you give yourselves credit for," Jack said.

Lois and Chloe had car pooled from Metropolis and walked into the Talon. They found Gwen and Martha sitting at one of the back tables comparing the day's shopping. The cousins walked over and Martha invited them to sit. After a round of coffee, the women started talking about their lives; where they were from, who they were with, etc.

"Well, my husband Rhys used to work for a shipping company, but now I have him in charge of the operations side of Torchwood. He runs things almost as smoothly as Ianto did," Gwen said.

"So your husband is doing the same job as Ianto?" Chloe asked. Gwen nodded wondering where this line of questioning was going. Chloe got a wicked gleam in her eye. "Is it some sort of requirement for the position that they have to be shagging the boss?"

Gwen was silent for a moment and then said, "You know Chloe, I never thought about it that way, but I wouldn't put it past Jack to have put it down somewhere in one of the manuals."

Martha laughed, "Sounds like him. So do you two carry on like Jack and Ianto did in the office after hours."

Gwen's accent thickened with embarrassment, "No..No..Nothing like that takes place. I can guarantee there is no more naked hide and seek going on when someone might walk in." Chloe and Lois looked at her with their mouths open. Martha just grinned, she had heard this story before. "I walked in on Ianto and Jack playing naked hide and seek. Ianto was seeking. He was also complaining that Jack always cheated. Jack popped out and invited me to join. Let me tell you it was a difficult call, but I left." Lois put her hand over her mouth to cover her giggle while Chloe just blushed. "Well Chloe, we know who you're with so that leaves Lois. Are you and Clark dating?"

Lois had been taking a sip of her coffee and spewed it across the table. Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head. "What, me and Smallville? Are you kidding? We can barely stand each other. We are always bickering and competing. If anything we're just good friends," Lois said defensively.

Martha knew all about love and not being brave enough to tell the other person and then losing any chance you might have had with them. She had been in love with the Doctor, but chose to leave him rather than admit her feelings for him. "_Of course Clark isn't some kind of super powerful alien, but even if he was Lois should tell him how she really feels. It's written all over her face. I'd hate to see anyone lose a chance at love like I did,"_ Martha thought. "Let's do a little experiment. I'm going to describe two events. You're going to close your eyes and keep them closed. After each description I'm going to watch your facial expressions for 20 seconds," Martha said. "Trust me, I'm a doctor, and this will help us get to the bottom of things."

"Sure, as long as you don't stick peanut butter in my hair like certain someone did at a slumber party," Lois said as she glanced at Chloe who was trying to look innocent.

"Ok, Lois, close your eyes. Now remember to keep your eyes closed. First one: you're in your apartment having sex with Clark," Martha said simply.

Lois almost opened her eyes, but fought the impulse. She waited for the remainder of the description and when it wasn't forthcoming, her mind filled in the details. She flushed slightly and unknown to her, a smile had crept to her face. "Second one: You and Clark are celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary," Martha said. Once again there was nothing else. Had anyone asked Lois to verbalize about a 50th wedding anniversary with Clark, she would have said something snarky about it. When she just visualized it, safe in her own mind however, she felt an overwhelming feeling of safety and warmth. Martha watched Lois' shoulders relax and her smile take on a serene quality. She let her stay that way for 40 seconds instead of 20. Lois opened her eyes. "Right, no romantic feelings for Clark whatsoever," Martha said sarcastically.

Lois was about to give back a witty comment about Smallville and cows when she looked into Martha's eyes. There was nothing mystical in them, only wisdom and a sense of loss. Somehow Lois could tell that Martha had lost a chance at love. Lois knew she couldn't lie to this woman and get away with it. "He's out of my league," Lois whispered.

Chloe couldn't believe her ears. Lois had not only admitted to liking Clark, but she had admitted to self doubt. Chloe looked at Jack's friends and realized what kind of people he surrounded himself with. She was even happier than she was before that she had taken him as her lover. Chloe reached over and took her cousin's hand and squeezed. She said one word with total conviction earning the nods of Gwen and Martha, "Bullshit."

Lois looked at her cousin in shock. Chloe very rarely swore and never with that much fervor. "Lois Lane, there hasn't been a man born on this planet, or any other for that matter, who is out of your league. As for Clark, if wasn't for his stupidity inducing y-chromosome, he would be your equal. As is it stands now, you out class _him_," Chloe vented.

"Chloe, Clark isn't like other guys. He's smart, sexy, intelligent like I'm sure some other guys are, but the thing he has the others don't is Clark's ability to care for other people. He cares for people like no one I have ever known. He's special," Lois said defending Clark. "Besides, this is a mute point. He's never going to ask me out."

Martha sat straight in her chair, "Lois, Chloe told me you were the daughter of General Lane. I'm assuming you were taught some things about battle tactics and not only what it takes to win, but what it takes to win completely. Lois, what is the more tactically sound option: waiting for the battle to come to you, never knowing when it will get there, or fighting a battle when and where you chose?" Martha asked.

The military analogy rebooted Lois' usual take charge attitude. Chloe watched as her eyes went from lackluster to bright in an instant. Lois rolled her shoulders back and held her head up regally, and smiled. "Thank you for that reminder, Doctor Jones-Smith. I would be pleased if you and Mrs. Cooper would attend a strategy session with Miss Sullivan and me at the apartment tomorrow night. There we can discuss tactics for the upcoming campaign, over margaritas of course," Lois said.

Gwen and Martha both gave Lois a palm forward salute. "Yes, mum!" they said in unison.

Chloe gave her a palm down salute, "Aye, aye, Cuz!" At that moment Jack walked into the coffee house.

"Dismissed," Lois said with a wink.

"Hey, Jack! Is Clark with you?" Chloe asked as she welcomed Jack with a wave.

"No, he said he had some work to do at the farm," Jack said as he walked to their table. He leaned over and gave Chloe a long kiss.

"Great, now I feel like I'm back at the office," Gwen teased. She did feel a pang of home sickness as she watched Jack kiss Chloe. The last time she had seen him kiss anyone had been her friend Ianto.

When they came up for air, Jack's eyes were sparkling and Chloe was fanning herself with her napkin. "Jack, you really know how to let a lady know you missed her," Chloe said. "Now that you're here, we can talk to Lois about the apartment."

"Oh, god. He's not moving in is he. No offense Jack, but from what Chloe told me I doubt I would be able to get much sleep with the two of you in the next room," Lois pleaded. Everyone laughed as Jack wagged his eyebrows.

"No, Lois, Jack isn't moving in. I'm moving out," Chloe explained.

"Huh?" Lois asked.

"I'm spending more and more of my time in Metropolis. I figured since I'm working for both Isis and Oliver it would be more convenient for me to have a place there. I have been thinking about it for months," Chloe said. "You can cover the rent at the apartment by yourself easily with your Planet salary."

"Well, yeah, but where are you going to live?" Lois asked.

"Jimmy originally bought the top of the Watchtower as an apartment for us. I didn't have the heart to convert the main area, but I was able to acquire the floor below and I'm going to convert part of it into an apartment and the other half into the new Isis headquarters," Chloe said as she sketched out a diagram on a napkin. "I got the extra space for next to nothing," Chloe said. "_In fact Oliver gave it to me for a dollar after he bought the rest of the building," _Chloe thought.

"What about Captain Dazzle over here?" Lois said trying to get a rise out of Jack. Instead Jack did an impromptu dance finish, worthy of a Broadway show complete with jazz hands.

Jack took a more normal stance after the applause died down. "Chloe invited me to move in with her and I accepted. I had been looking for a place in Metropolis anyway and it didn't make much sense to get two places if I was going to be at hers all the time anyway. I'm staying here in Kansas," Jack said. The last part made Gwen and Martha's heads shoot up from their drinks. They had been studiously ignoring the conversation as it was none of their business, but Jack not coming back to Cardiff was something they had never considered. Jack met Martha's eyes, "That wet Cardiff weather was getting to me, thought I would move somewhere drier, _Doctor's_ orders," he said. Martha nodded. Gwen was about to protest when Martha put a hand on her arm, silencing her.

"_OK, that was weird,"_ Lois thought. "I guess that beats me walking in on you guys having Chinese again. There's one final thing that's been nagging me. What is Jack going to being doing now that's he here?" Lois asked.

"She said what and not who, Jack," Gwen quickly put in as she saw Jack about to speak. Jack shut his mouth with an audible snap and Chloe hit him in the arm.

"Jack will be working for Oliver," Chloe said.

"I will?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yes, you will. He just doesn't know it yet. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass the hiring interview," Chloe said cryptically.

"All right then, I guess I am getting the apartment all to myself. This calls for drinks with lots of fat and sugar, my treat," Lois said as she got up.

"I'll help bring them back," Jack offered. The two of them went off to the counter to order the drinks. As their drinks were being put on trays, two men in coats that were too warm for the season walked into the Talon. Gwen saw them and immediately reached for her matched set of pistols only to remember that she had left them on the UNIT plane, being things that customs normally frowns upon. The first man started towards the cash register and therefore Lois and Jack who had their backs to him. The second man was walking towards their table, the coffee house having emptied out. Their table was the last to have customers at it. The first man pulled out a shot gun from under his coat and fired a round at an empty table. Jack and Lois spun around. He second man had pulled out a black, semi-auto handgun and pointed it Martha.

"Guess what folks. You have generously decided to contribute to the 'I don't want to die' charity fund," the man said, amused with his attempt at humor. "Here is how it is going to work, you are going to give us all of the money in this place, including what is on you and we will let live."

The minute Lois had heard the blast; she had stuck her hand into her pocket and turned on her cell-phone. She couldn't dial 911 by touch, but she could press and hold the center button, speed dialing Clark. She hoped he would answer, figure out was going on, and call the police. She slowly drew her hand out of pocket and held both of her hands up. While dialing the phone she hadn't realized she had accidently switched the phone over to speaker mode. To her horror, everyone in the Talon heard her phone ring twice and then Clark's voice come from her pocket, "Hey Lois, what's up? Hello?"

"You bitch!" The first robber yelled as he swung the shotgun towards Lois. Time slowed for Lois. She felt Jack push her out of the way and saw he had drawn a revolver that he had hidden in the small of his back. The shots were simultaneous. The buck shot tore into Jack's chest, center of mass as Jack's shot went right between the man's eyes. They were both dead before they hit the floor. Lois was sprayed by Jack's blood.

The second robber made the mistake of diverting his attention for an instant when he heard the shots. Martha grabbed his gun side hand and forced it towards the ceiling. Gwen had jumped out of her seat and struck the knee closest to her with at downward side-kick. The crunch of bone and cartilage was audible. Martha followed up by over rotating the man's arm, dislocating the shoulder and then dropping her own elbow into his, breaking the arm. They let him drop to the ground as he passed out from the pain.

Clark had been sitting in the loft going over the pros and cons of telling Lois his secret when his cell-phone had rung. He saw it was Lois and answered it on the second ring. "Hey Lois, what's up? Hello?" he had said. He heard the shots and Lois scream. He used his super-hearing to locate her actual voice and ran to the Talon. When he got there he saw Jack lying dead on the floor with a shotgun blast to the chest, a revolver in his hand. Lois was standing next to him in shock, her shirt partially covered in his blood. A man with a shotgun was dead on the floor with the back part of his head missing. Clark looked over at the table where Chloe was and saw she also seemed to be in a state of shock. There was a second assailant lying at the feet of Gwen and Martha. He was still breathing, but one of his arms and a leg were sticking out at unnatural angles. Clark walked over to Lois and led her away from Jack's body. Lois began to shake. Clark wrapped her in his arms and noticed he had been shaking as well. "_I almost lost her. I almost lost Lois._ _If it wasn't for Jack, Lois would be dead and I would never get a chance to tell her that I love her," _Clark cried silently in his head. He held onto Lois like he was drowning.

"_Oh god, what just happened? How is Chloe going to deal with this? She can't lose another lover this close to losing Jimmy," _Lois thought. "_What makes it worse is that I am glad it was Jack and not Clark who was here. I know Clark would have done the exact same thing and I don't know if I could live without him."_

Chloe slowly walked over to Jack's lifeless body. She stared at him and then turned away_._ Gwen took Chloe's face in her hands and made her look at her, "He told you everything, yeah?" Chloe was only able to nod. "Ok, good." Gwen let go of Chloe's face and turned her so she was looking at Jack's body. "The first time you have to go through this is the worse. After that it gets a little better, but you never fully get used to it. My first time was my first week on the job."

Lois was listening to Gwen talk to Chloe and whispered to Clark, "I know Gwen's trying to help, but Chloe just watched Jack get killed. She needs comfort not platitudes. Go to her Clark, she needs you."

Clark realized that not counting the clerk, Lois was the only one who didn't know Jack was immortal. "No, Lois. I'm staying right here with you. Gwen has more experience with this than I do."

Lois buried her head in Clark's chest, glad for his comfort. She heard Chloe talking to Gwen, "So how long does this take to…you know…"

"Every time is different. The recovery time seems to be tied to how traumatic the death is," Gwen said.

Lois thought that while these words were true, now wasn't the time to be saying them to Chloe. Clark whispered to Lois, "Lois, there is something we need to talk about." Lois looked up at him with tear streaked eyes. "It's about Jack…" Lois started crying again until she heard a long drawn out gasp coming from the floor. She looked where Jack was lying and stared in disbelief. Jack was sitting up, rubbing his chest his hand covered in blood. Chloe dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Jack.

Jack returned Chloe's embrace, holding her tight. He turned his face towards Clark, "Sorry about the shirt, Clark."

.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Lois couldn't believe her eyes. She had watched her friend Jack Harkness sacrifice his life to save hers and now he was slowly getting up from the floor. She thought back to what Gwen had said just a few moments before, "_The first time you have to go through this is the worse. After that it gets a little better, but you never fully get used to it. My first time was my first week on the job._" Lois realized what Gwen had really meant. "_Holy shit, how many times has he had to go through that?"_ she wondered. Lois watched the scene in fascination, unable to turn off her reporter's instincts. Jack was standing now wiggling fingers through the bloody holes in the front of the shirt he was wearing. He took his hand out, wiping it on the sleeve. Jack started to slowly turn around, taking stock of the entire room. He paused slightly to look down at the corpse of the robber who had shot him and who he had shot in turn. Lois saw Gwen palm something small to Martha who was walking over towards the clerk. Jack looked over at Martha and then to Gwen, a question in his eyes. Gwen gave a slight nod of her head and Jack relaxed a little.

Lois looked over at the clerk who was standing stone still, staring at Jack. All the color was drained from her face. She heard Martha say soothingly, "It's going to be Ok. I'm a doctor. Here, drink this water; it will help you deal with the shock you are going through." Lois saw Martha drop a small capsule in the water that dissolved instantly before the clerk took the glass and drank. "Good girl. Now to ease things a bit, I think you should lie down behind the counter for a few moments and breathe deeply. This will help you regain control and process what you saw. That's right, just like that," Martha said as the clerk lied down. "She's out, Jack," Martha said.

Gwen walked over to the wounded robber with the broken arm and leg, saying, "One down, one to go. Wakey, wakey, lad." She slapped the man across the face. He moaned loudly. "Can you hear me?" She asked. The man nodded, whimpering. "I need you take this," she said as she held out a small pill, "It will make you feel better." The man eagerly swallowed the pill. "Feeling any better?" Gwen asked sweetly.

"No," the man croaked.

"Good!" Gwen said as she punched him hard in the face, knocking him unconscious again.

"I thought you said it was going to make him feel better," Lois said, not at all feeling sorry for the robber.

"Oh, I did didn't I. I must have gotten that part mixed up. It makes _me_ feel better when he takes it," Gwen said, massaging her hand.

"What was that you gave them? I saw you spike the clerk's drink with something before she drank it," Lois asked.

"Retcon," Jack explained. "It's a fast acting memory inhibitor / sedative that we developed some time ago. They are going to lose the last 24 hours of their lives. It was developed to help cover up things that we didn't want going public." Jack did one final turn around the room. "Ok, first thing. Lois and I need new shirts," Jack said. "Chloe, could you run up and grab some for us. Preferably one of the ones Lois stole from Clark for me, in case somebody saw me come in dressed as a Kent farm extra."

"On it, Jack," Chloe said as she raced up the stairs.

"Gwen, these two are obviously too stupid to be anything but human (or weevil) and glancing at their dental work, I'm going out on a limb and say human. That means we are going have to go with level 2 local agency containment. Get on the horn with Rhys and have him route an anonymous emergency call to a nearby cell tower. Tell him to say that they heard two shots, the first one louder than the second. Give us 5 minutes. Oh, and make sure that whoever he has making the call can do a passable American accent."

Gwen got on her phone and hit speed dial, "Rhys, honey. I know it's early but we have a situation. There was a robbery at the coffee house where we were at and there were shots fired….No, dear…I'm fine, and so is Martha. Jack was murdered, again. Jack killed the one that shot him and Martha and I treated the other to a broken arm and leg….Yeah, that's just what Jack said. You're so smart, I knew there was a reason I married you. Two shots, first one louder than the second. Right. Oh…hold on, you're not going to believe this. Jack is with a woman… Watch your mouth, and yes I am for real. Ok, get to work you, and give Jackie a kiss from Mommy for me. Love ya." Gwen hung up her phone. "5 minutes, Jack."

Jack had already stripped out of shirt and was tossing it in a trash bag he had grabbed from behind the counter. "Lois, no time to be modest. You're wearing a lot of my blood," Jack said. Lois took the shirt Chloe had handed her and slipped out of the one she had been wearing. Modesty wasn't the reason for her delay in changing. She had been marveling at Jack's chest. It was completely mark free; not one indication he had been shot.

Clark glanced away as Lois took off her shirt to put on another. He watched Martha put on a pair of surgical gloves she had pulled out of a pocket. She picked up the shotgun and racked the spent shell out of the chamber. She put the shotgun back in the dead man's hand and picked up the shell. She tossed the used ammo in the trash bag Jack was holding. Lois put her soiled shirt in as well. Jack made eye contact with Clark and said, "Clark, will you take this upstairs and put it where no one will find it."

Clark took the bag and walked up the stairs and into the apartment. Once he had shut the door he had to evaluate where he stood. He was helping dispose of evidence in a murder investigation. Clark felt better about it when he realized he was covering up the murder of a man who would soon be giving his statement to the Sheriff. The same man who was going to admit to killing the man who had tried to murder Lois. At that thought of someone trying to hurt Lois, Clark ground his teeth in anger. He tossed the bag in the sink and incinerated it with a blast of heat vision fueled by his rage. Clark felt better after physically venting like that and went back down stairs. He had just reached the bottom stair when the Sheriff walked in.

"What the hell is going on here? Kent, are you Chloe all right?" she said looking first at Clark and then at the rest of the crime scene. When she got a nod from Clark who was working at acting terrified, she looked at the others. "Lois Lane and…shit, I should have guessed. Harkness! These two friends of yours?" she asked Jack, indicating Martha and Gwen.

"Yes, they are. Gwen Cooper is the current leader of my former team and Dr. Martha Jones-Smith is with UNIT. They're here visiting me. We were all having coffee when this happened," Jack said with a wave of his arm.

The Sheriff and her deputy took everyone's statements and then compared notes. The statements were similar enough to be the truth. The Sheriff saw it like this: The clerk had gone into catatonic shock when the robber had pointed the shotgun at Lane and her. They had both been lucky Harkness was such a good shot. The entry wound was within a millimeter of being directly between the eyes. The odd thing was the wound looked like it was at an upward angle, like Harkness had been diving at the time he pulled the trigger. The other man was in terrible shape. Dr. Jones-Smith and Mrs. Cooper had worked him over when he stuck a gun in their faces. She smiled, "_Weaker sex my ass,"_ she thought. "Captain, I hate to do this to you since everything else checks out, but I need to see if you have a concealed carry permit for that gun of yours," she said.

Jack smiled warmly only slightly putting on the charm, "Of course Sheriff, I think this is exactly what you were looking for." Jack reached into his back pocket and took out a small brown wallet. He opened it up and showed it to the Sheriff. The Sheriff was surprised to see that Harkness had a valid Kansas driver's license with the concealed carry permit markings on it. Everyone else in the room saw Jack holding open his wallet, displaying a blank piece of white paper.

Martha leaned over to Lois and whispered, "Slightly-psychic paper, it makes people see what the user wants them to see, usually. It won't work on extremely strong willed people. I'm guessing you only saw a white piece of paper." Lois nodded, leased that she saw white paper instead of what Jack projected. She wondered if he had any more of those.

"Ok, looks good. I had to check. You folks go home and we'll take care of the mess here." The Sheriff paused and looked pointedly at Jack. "Harkness, how much longer are you going to be in my county?" the Sheriff asked.

"I'm moving to Metropolis before too long, so the only time I'll be here is visiting," Jack reassured her.

"Good," the Sheriff said. She dismissed them with a wave and called the coroner's office with her cell-phone.

Chloe was wearing a pair of blue silk pajamas to bed. She was snuggled up next to Jack who was propped up on some pillows. He, as usual, was wearing nothing to bed. Jack was absent mindedly stroking Chloe's hair. Chloe had decided to try to sleep even though she kept seeing images of Jack being shot, and then his ruined body laying on the ground every time she closed her eyes. She gave an exasperated yell and looked up at him. She wacked his chest with her hand. "You scared the shit out me, you know," she said. She whacked him again. "You died." She hit him again."You died," she said, but this time she was beginning to cry. She hit him harder. "You died, just like Jimmy died!" Her hand was balled up in a fist as she pounded on his chest, her tears flowing. "I had to watch you both die. I only had your word that you would come back." She stopped hitting him and looked up at him again. "You do realize how f***ing crazy it sounds when you tell someone that, don't you?" Chloe hit him once more for good measure and buried her face in his chest, sobbing. Jack tilted his head down and kissed the top of her head.

Lois had been having trouble sleeping. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts about near death, people who didn't stay dead, how good it felt to be in Clark's arms, and how to begin the opening moves of Operation Smallville. She had come to a tentative agreement with herself and decided to try to let herself be happy. She was starting to drift off when she heard Chloe yell. Lois jumped out of bed and cracked open her door. She peeked through and saw Chloe holding on to Jack, yelling at him, and beating his chest. Jack sat there and took the beating with a look of calm sadness on his face. Lois watched as he tenderly kissed the top of Chloe's head. Chloe was silently sobbing and Lois was about to shut the door when she heard Jack begin to sing softly to Chloe. Lois was stunned by his clear, beautiful baritone. Jack was singing in a language that she had never heard before. He continued to stroke Chloe's hair. Without knowing the language, Lois knew Jack was singing a lullaby to Chloe. Chloe stopped crying and after a while she drifted off to sleep. Jack continued to sing the song softly, even after Chloe had gone to sleep. A car driving by cast its lights through the window and onto Jack's face. Lois saw Jack had tears streaming down his face.

Lois softly shut her door and crawled into bed. She thought of Jack and his haunting lullaby as she drifted off to sleep. Jack had saved her life and now she was sure that he had saved her cousin's heart.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Chloe walked into the top part of the Watchtower. The beautiful stained glass windows contrasted nicely with the huge complex of computers sitting under them. In the center of the room was a long conference table with monitors suspended above it. Oliver had insisted on have the initials "JLA" done in holographic media so that no matter where you sat, the letters faced you. Jack had dropped her off and gone to Met U to have breakfast with John Hart.

A hidden door opened on the far side of the room and Oliver Queen dressed in green leather as the Green Arrow and Bart Allen in his red hoodie as Impulse stepped out. The two buddies saw Chloe and Bart super-sped over to her. He held her hand to his lips, "Ah, Chloe, my day is complete, my beautiful chica. I could die a happy man with just one sweet word from you. Say you will be mine forever," Bart said smiling at Chloe. They had flirted like this since they first met.

Chloe withdrew her hand and ruffled Bart's hair. "Good morning to you too, Bart," Chloe giggled. Oliver shook his head in amusement as he put his bow down in its stand. He took a dart out of his hip holster, spun it around his fingers a couple of times, and threw it across the room. The dart flew right between Chloe and Bart's heads. They were so used to Oliver that they didn't even blink. The dart quivered in the center bulls-eye of a dartboard with Lex Luthor's picture on it.

"How did the mission go?" Chloe asked.

"Pretty good. We found another 33.1 lab on the south side. They were working on cadavers so we didn't have to worry about a victim extraction. Lex will have to add more red ink to his research budget," Oliver said. "All though I think he is learning from our raids. Bart barely got out of the computer room before it flooded with radioactive gas. He wasn't able to download anything from the server."

"Yeah, sorry about that man," Bart said glumly.

Oliver looked at him with concern, "Don't apologize, Bart. Anyone else would have been dead. Well, maybe not Clark, but we don't want to risk any cameras getting a look at him. Lex and Lana would have him for dinner." Oliver slapped his friend on the back. "Trust me, as long as Lex is around, there will be more facilities." Oliver sat down at a terminal and began logging the night's mission. Bart sat down at a special terminal built to withstand the speed of him and Clark typing on it at full bore. Chloe always thought it sounded like a flock of woodpeckers after a weeklong espresso binge.

Within 5 seconds Bart stood back up. "You done yet? Geeez, Ollie, what's taking you so long? I'm going for some burritos. Anyone else?" Without looking up Oliver held up one hand with one finger extended. It wasn't the usual finger that one would use to indicate you wanted a single burrito. Bart laughed, "Ok amigo, I can take the hint. No burrito for you. How about you my blonde goddess?"

"Are you getting them from that place in Mexico City?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"Of course, I have my standards," Bart said pretending to be snooty.

"I'll take two," Chloe said placing her order. She pulled out her wallet and Bart shot her a hurt look. "Hey, I have to try." Bart blew her a kiss. He stuck out his tongue at Oliver, earning him another one-fingered salute from Oliver; who never looked up from his terminal. Bart laughed, causing a chuckle from Oliver. A gust of air filled in the space where Bart had just occupied as he sped off to Mexico for his third breakfast.

10 minutes later, Bart returned with the food. Oliver finished his report and looked at his watch. "Are you feeling ok? That took a lot longer than normal. Did some of that gas get to you after all?" Oliver asked, real fear showing in voice.

"No, nothing like that," Bart said. He was touched that his idol looked concerned. "I'm kinda embarrassed. I told some people, who must have told some other people, about how good the place was. I had to wait in line to order the food." He handed the still warm burritos to Chloe.

Chloe dove in. In between mouthfuls she spoke to the guys. "I wanted to talk with you guys about something. I think I found another member for the JLA," Chloe said.

Bart stopped chewing and looked at her. "Cool," he said with his mouthful.

"What makes him JLA material?" Oliver asked, slipping into his CEO persona.

"Well, let's see, how does Clark put it? He's an 'inter-stellar' traveler. You know, like Clark and John Jones," Chloe said. Oliver and Bart looked at each other in surprise. "_That got their attention," _Chloe thought_._ "He's not super-powerful like them, but he has access to some pretty high tech alien gadgets, and oh yeah…he's immortal."

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I thought I heard you say he was immortal. As in he can't be killed?" Oliver said in disbelief. He was leaning forward in his seat.

"Well, I've learned there is more than one way to define immortality. He isn't invulnerable. He can die just as easily as anyone else. The kicker is he just doesn't stay dead," Chloe said. Her face darkened. "I saw it happen. He was killed in front of me; shot in the chest, point blank with a shotgun. He was dead for over 5 minutes. He got up and was completely healed." She forced the image out of her head. "I told him about you and the team and he agreed to try out. He will be by this afternoon. Bring some of the others to put him through his paces."

Oliver looked like a kid at Christmas. "I'm really impressed, Chloe. Where did you find this guy?"

Chloe sat back into her chair, crossed her arms, and said happily, "He's my boyfriend, I'm sleeping with him."

Bart started choking and both Chloe and Oliver started pounding his back.

Jack and John Hart walked into the lobby of the Watchtower, John looking around cautiously. "Tell me again why you wanted to come along," Jack asked his nervous friend.

"When you told me you were going to join these bloody ponces, I wanted to be there to have your back. You know these guys were the forerunners of the Legion, right?" John asked.

Jack stopped in the middle of the floor. "The who?" Jack asked.

"What?" John asked, utter disbelief in his voice. "The Legion; the time traveling twits that beat the holy hell out of us and dismantled the Agency. OK, I guess the whole dismantling thing happened after you were fired, but you have to remember them kicking our ass. That Lighting Lad prick must have zapped me half a dozen times. Of course I wouldn't mind being captured by Saturn Girl. She was hot." John's eyes took on a faraway look, a grin on his face.

Jack snapped his fingers in front of John's face. John blinked and came back to the present. "I don't remember anything of the last 2 years of my Agency time. They mind raped me when the tossed me out. They weren't gentle. I lost most of my childhood memories. I can only remember my dad's death, losing Gray, and watching the city burn. The only good memory I was able to hold onto was the lullaby my mother used to sing to me and Gray."

The mention of Gray caused John to drop his head in shame. "John, he forced you to do those things. He had a bomb fused to your wrist. I don't blame you. I have forgiven you. I even forgave Gray," Jack said.

John decided to change the subject. "After you left, the Legion stepped up their operations. Our bosses were very upset and they assigned me to research them, come up with their MO and a way to get back at them. I checked them out more thoroughly than a Telgian checks out a farmer's anus. I went all the way back and found out they modeled themselves after the JLA. I love the costumes by the way. Men of this time don't wear enough tights. That's how I knew about…" John drew an "S" on his chest. "Turned out I did all the research for nothing. They had some new recruits that gave them some different ideas. These new guys were running the anti-Agency campaign. They put on the defensive and kept us running. Within 3 years the Agency was completely dismantled and those of us not in jail were scattered to the temporal winds."

"I appreciate your concern, but remember, we're on their side now," Jack said. He pushed his friend into the elevator. He pressed the top floor button. The elevator shot upwards. "Thanks for the equipment, by the way. I wanted to make a good first impression today."

John's smile was wicked. He said with a half smile, "You can come to me for anything, you know that Jack. Besides, I'm looking forward to watching you kick some ass. It always turns me on. You know if things between you and Chloe don't…" the elevator door opened and John found himself looking at the business end of a crossbow just out of arm's reach pointed at his face. A young black man hand his arm raised and his palm facing John's chest. A high pitched hum was coming from inside the arm. A blonde woman wearing a black cat-suit was standing off to their right, her hands on her hips.

Oliver looked at the two men. He had learned as a CEO that his first impressions were usually right about people. The one dressed as a school professor, who looked just like Brainiac, looked nervous. He was trying to give off a brave face but looked like he was facing down a past trauma. His stance showed that he was a practiced fighter and was totally unconcerned about any threat coming from the room on the other man's side. A sign of complete trust and a long history of fighting side by side. The other man stood slightly over 6 feet tall. His black hair cut short. He was wearing a WWII era Air Force overcoat over a dark suit. The suit coat was unbuttoned and he saw he was wearing suspenders rather than a belt. The man's eyes swept over the room quickly taking in everything. His smile never faltered. The man in the coat's stance impressed Oliver the most. Most people shift their balance constantly and are always in some form of motion. This man was _still._ Oliver knew without having to take him to the range they had just installed four floors below, that he would be an extremely lethal marksman.

"It's OK, Green Arrow, it's not Brainiac. It's Brainiac's sperm donor," Chloe said.

"Eeeww!" Victor said.

"Which one must I fight for your love, she of the radiant beauty?" Bart asked Chloe.

Jack and John walked out of the elevator as Oliver took a step backwards, lowering the crossbow. Chloe walked towards Jack and threw her arms around him and gave him a short kiss. She let go and walked over to John. "John Hart I presume?" She held out her hand. John took her hand. Chloe kneed him in the crotch with all of her pent up frustration over Brainiac. John doubled over in agony. Chloe put her weight on her front leg and spun on the ball of foot. When she completed the revolution she had extended the other leg and connected with John's head. John was thrown into the wall by the force of the blow. The JLA members looked on in shocked silence. They all decided to give Watchtower a little more room if she looked pissed.

Bart and Victor said in unison while wincing, "Daaaamn."

John looked up at Jack from the floor. A weak smile on his face, "If you ever break up with her, I get first dibs. She's awesome."

Jack took Chloe by the shoulders and led her away from the crumpled mass on the floor. "Your spinning heel kick is coming along great, however as much as I think John deserves this for his _contribution_ to Brainiac. We have other things to do." Jack walked over to Oliver and extended his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness, love the outfit by the way. Chloe, can I get some sexy leather too? At least for the bedroom?" Chloe blushed while the other JLA members, who were new to Jack's behavior to understand him, were looking at him in shock.

"_I haven't seen Chloe blush like that before. I can see why she likes him_," Oliver thought. Oliver took his hand and shook it firmly, smiling. "Green Arrow, and this is…"

Oliver was interrupted by John, "Victor Stone, AKA Cyborg, Bart Allen AKA Impulse, the blonde hottie chuckling at my misfortune is Dinah Lance otherwise known as the Black Canary. You are Oliver Queen," John said as he pointed at each one in turn. He was leaning against the wall for support, his other hand on his groin. "Don't mean to be a whiner, but that woman of yours Jack has quite a knee strike. Can I get an ice pack or something?"

Oliver raised his crossbow at aimed it at John's head. "How do you know who we are?" Chloe looked concerned as well.

Jack put his hand on the crossbow and slowly forced it down while talking to Oliver, "He read up on you guys from a history book. John and I used to be time travelers."

Oliver slowly turned his head to look at Jack and then Chloe. "She forgot to mention that part."

Jack was on the training floor. He had just finished placing several gadgets out on a table. The JLA members were huddled around. Jack held out a small orb. "Victor, under no circumstances should you ever be near this when it's armed. It's a portable EMP generator that will knock out anything electrical in a 30 meter radius," Jack said. He put the orb down and picked up a head-set. "Torchwood uses these things. They are communicators based upon a design that I can't share with you. What I can tell you is nothing from this time period can jam them and they work across the globe. John has a case of them that he is willing to sell us." John was sitting in a chair nearby with a icepack held on the Hart family jewels. He smiled and waved with his free hand. Jack waved back and went back to explain the various devices on the table. He went on for some time explaining gadget after gadget.

"Neat stuff, Jack. I'm sure they will really help us out and Chloe will be able to integrate a lot of the stuff right away into our current operations," Oliver said. "Next I want to see how good you are in a fight." The group walked over to the sparring room. Jack took off his overcoat and suit jacket. After that he took of his dress shirt. He was standing in an under shirt and dark slacks, his suspenders hanging down at his sides.

"OK, who's up first on my dance card?" Jack asked smiling.

"I am," Dinah said as she walked onto the mat.

"Remember, no powers, Dinah. I'm only looking to see his fighting ability," Oliver said.

Jack walked over to Chloe and kissed her cheek. He walked back onto the mat and did a bow with a flourishing hand wave, "Shall we dance my Lady?" Jack was still bent forward in his bow when Dinah lashed out at his head with a roundhouse kick. Jack tilted his head up, blocked her kick with his forearm and slid his hand down to her ankle, grabbing it. "I'll take that as a yes," Jack said, flashing his perfect white teeth. Jack launched himself forwards into a roll, pushing Dinah's ankle with him. Dinah was thrown across the mat to land squarely on her butt.

Jack stood, turning his body sideways to his opponent. His hands were halfway between his face and waist, ready to grab or strike. Dinah got back up, rubbing her backside. She cautiously approached Jack. Dinah feinted a leg sweep and Jack jumped up to avoid it. The leg sweep never came, but the punch to the face did. Jack staggered back and Dinah followed up with a spinning roundhouse kick to the ribs. Instead of attempting to dodge the kick like Dinah expected, Jack stepped into it, taking the blow across his back instead of his ribs. He spun and backhanded Dinah in her jaw.

Dinah was beginning to like this guy. His method of fighting was unlike any other discipline she had trained in. Her jaw smarted. They sparred like this for a while, trading blows, getting a measure of the others skill. Jack punched at Dinah's face. She was finally able to block his punch. Her forearm connected with his and she slid her hand down his arm to his wrist. Dinah grabbed his wrist and forced him into a flip. Jack rolled out of it just in time to see Dinah's boot speed towards his head. He was a fraction of a second too slow and the next thing he was sprawled out on the mat stunned. Dinah stood over him and offered her hand. She helped him to his feet.

"Wow, 2 minutes, that is way longer that most guys ever last with Dinah," Bart said impressed.

John leered. "I can tell you from experience that staying power was never a problem for Jack," he said.

Victor scrunched up his face, "Can I be the first one to say, eeeww, again?"

While everyone's attention was still on Jack and Dinah, Oliver looked at Chloe who took a deep breath and nodded. Oliver raised his crossbow and fired a bolt that pierced Jack's heart and stuck out his back. John saw his friend with a bolt sticking out of his torso, closed his eyes and turned his face away, quietly muttering, 'shit."

"What the hell, Oliver?" Dinah yelled. She spun around ready to blast any other bolts into dust. Victor ran over and checked for a pulse and shook his head. Bart just looked at Chloe who was taking the fact that her boyfriend had just been killed by Oliver really well. Oliver walked purposefully to Jack's body, the other JLA members except for Chloe parting in front of him. He bent down and grasped the end of the bolt and yanked; it slid out of Jack's corpse with a sickening squelch. He leaned down and checked for himself that there was no was pulse.

Oliver stood up and Chloe addressed the group. "It was Jack's idea," she explained. "He wanted to demonstrate to you all in one sitting his resurrection abilities." She looked at their horrified expressions. "Let's clean up the mess and before we know it, Jack will be back and I will be taking him up to my new apartment to try out our new bed."

Victor held up hand and pointed at Chloe and was about to speak, but he paused before he could start, "I don't even know where to go with what you just said. There are just too many levels of weird." Bart sped over to the cleaning closest and started cleaning up the blood.

Chloe looked over and saw John refusing to look at Jack's body. She walked over to him. He looked up and her and said softly, "God, I hate seeing that. Each time I wonder if maybe the Universe will figure out the glitch in the program and he won't come back." Chloe put her hand on his shoulder.

"You missed a spot," Jack said to Bart as he rolled over onto his side. He pointed to a spot under where he was laying.

Bart dropped his mop and jumped back, swearing. He struggled to get his breathing back under control. "Dude, I'm going to have to super-speed back to Central City to change my shorts. Holy crap…" he said.

Jack took off his bloody under shirt. Dinah looked him over and smiled. She gave Chloe a smile and a thumbs up sign. Dinah glanced again at Jack's naked chest and mouthed silently to Chloe, "Tasty." Dinah all of sudden realized what was missing on Jack's chest. She bent down and put her hand on his chest and leaned over to look at his back. The wounds were gone. She stepped back, suddenly afraid.

Oliver helped Jack to his feet and handed him his dress shirt. "Welcome to the team, Jack," he said. "We need to come up with a call sign for you, and possibly a costume."

"He's the Captain, and the Coat stays," Chloe said broking no discussion. Jack was glad she knew him so well. "Now that you've had your fun with him, Ollie, it's my turn. I'm off duty for the rest of the day. The afternoon belongs to Jack and tonight it's ladies night with Lois and two of the most powerful women in the world."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Lois sat at the table laughing with her new friends Martha Jones-Smith and Gwen Cooper. They had stopped by the grocer and brought party foods and ice. Lois was providing the margaritas. They were just waiting for Lois' cousin Chloe to arrive so that they could start working on what Lois had named Operation Smallville and getting sloppy drunk. Gwen looked out the window and saw an all too familiar SUV pull up and Chloe hop out. "Oi, Chloe's here. I still can't figure out how Jack managed to the SUV across pond," Gwen said. "Oh, looks like she brought pizza, she's smart, that one. Jack always likes the ones who can keep him organized."

"What was he like? Ianto I mean." Lois asked.

Gwen thought about for a moment. "Actually he was a lot like Chloe; brilliant, organized, and could find anything in a database – anywhere. He was very proper most almost all of the time. Jack brought out the playful side of him. He loved Jack with all of heart. Pretty much just like Chloe except for _he _was a couple of inches taller than Jack, had black hair, and had a penis." This set the other women howling with laughter.

Chloe walked into the apartment carrying a couple of pizza boxes. The other women looked up from the table and began laughing again. Chloe smiled self-consciously. "Ok, what did I miss?" she asked.

"Sorry, Cuz. Just imagining you about a foot taller and a guy," Lois admitted.

"O…K…I thought you guys weren't going to start drinking without me?" Chloe teased. She put the pizzas down on the table. "Chow has arrived Commander Lane, planning meeting is officially ready start," Chloe said. She gave Lois a quick salute and grabbed the glasses out of the cupboard.

"Thank you. Miss Sullivan. Dr. Jones-Smith, Mrs. Cooper, I have asked you two here for a serious mission. It has been codenamed Operation Smallville. Its primary objective it to hook me up with a certain gorgeous, but oblivious farm-boy from the Kent farm. I have recently come to the conclusion that this objective must be a priority," Lois said in a very commanding tone.

Martha had sat in on more briefings than she could count and from Lois' tone and cadence, she had sat up in her seat and looked around for something to take notes with it. Martha shook her head in amusement. "_I'm not giving up on convincing this one to join UNIT anytime soon,"_ she thought. Martha remembered where she was and reached for the tequila to help mix the drinks.

"To plan any successful campaign the winning side must anticipate the obstacles to victory that are put in their way. Rules for this sitting are: we come up with an obstacle, a way to either crush it or work around it, and then go on to another. By the end of tonight, I want to list out as many possible pit-falls of the opening moves as we can come up with. We are not looking long term here ladies, only the opening gambit," Lois explained. A thought occurred to her. "Do I have a volunteer for recorder?" Gwen raised her hand. Lois handed her a legal pad and some pens. "Floor is open ladies. Oh and one more thing, lime or strawberry?" Lois asked.

The women mixed their drinks and ate their pizzas. Chloe was the first to list an obstacle, "Lois I hate to bring this up, but I want to get it done with at the beginning. Obstacle – Clark Kent's mindless infatuation with a certain poisonous princess. It seems that every time you guys seem close to getting something started, she who must not be named sweeps in and totally screws things up. She has totally mind f***ed Clark so many times I don't know what will happen if she finds out you are trying to date him."

Gwen leaned over to Lois and said, "Who are we not talking about?"

"Lana Luthor," Lois said, making the name sound like a disease.

"Oh, I've heard of her. She has been in most of the celebrity magazines in Britain and on a lot of talk shows going on and on about her charity work. Seems like a total git to me. She and Clark had a thing?" Gwen asked

"She used to live across the street from Clark and he had a crush on her from elementary school on. They dated off and on, and even after she married Lex she tries to get into Clark's shorts whenever she can," Chloe explained.

"Well, I guess if all you are used to seeing is a cow's arse all day long, the first bint you see makes you think you're in love," Gwen spouted philosophically. Martha choked on her drink and a little margarita came out her nose. Chloe gave Gwen a dirty look. "Bint means girl, it comes from the Arabic term for daughter. Get your mind out of the gutter, Chloe," Gwen teased.

"I don't think that is going to be a problem anymore," Lois said remembering her little foray into Clark's laptop.

"Why?" Chloe inquired. Lois only smiled cryptically.

"Next obstacle," Lois said, "My own personal doubts. Thanks to the timely kick in pants by you three we can table that one. I appreciate it. Smallville needs someone to take charge, not someone who doubts themselves; and I'm just the person to do it." Lois nodded her head once and started on her second drink.

"I've got one," Martha said, "Where are you guys going on your big double date with Jack and Chloe?" Chloe and Lois looked at each other in panic. They both new they wanted it to be perfect for Lois.

"Well, we were thinking about going to a French restaurant, but I don't think that is Smallville's thing," Lois said. "As for afterwards, I suggested the Atlantis Club and Smallville shot that down quicker than the Blur saves people. I want to go somewhere we can have fun, and still get some _close_ time together."

Martha snapped her finger, "Got it! I read about a charity USO dance being held downtown. The theme is Big Band and World War II. You guys could go in costume (well you, Chloe, and Clark could go in costume and Jack could just show up with what he normally wears) and dance the night away. For dinner you let Clark and Jack decide. You have to give men the illusion that they have some control or they get cranky." Chloe and Lois beamed. They reached across the table and first high fived each other and then Martha.

"Ladies I think the opening moves are set, let's get sloshed and obnoxious," Lois said.

"_We're missing one final obstacle", _Chloe thought_. "I hope Jack convinces Clark to tell Lois soon." _Chloe's attention was brought back by Martha asking her a question.

"I asked Ianto so now I'll ask you. So…how is sex with the dashing Captain Harkness?" Martha asked, causing Chloe to blush. Gwen punched Martha in the arm, but secretly wanted to hear for herself.

Ianto had told Jack that Martha had asked about their sex life. He had thought the story was so funny he had told it Chloe. She repeated Ianto's line to Martha, doing her best impersonation of a welsh accent, "Innovative, bordering on the avant-garde."

Clark was in the barn working on the on the underside of the tractor, holding it up with one hand while twisting the bolts with the other, when he felt the air become charged with energy. A now familiar crackle filled the barn and the slight breeze of displaced air brushed across his neck. Clark lowered the tractor gently and turned around. He saw his friend, Rokk Krinn, standing there in his black, quilted jacked with metal spheres on the collar. "Don't get me wrong, Rokk. I like you. You're a good friend, but forgive me if I'm not overjoyed to see you. Every time you show up, it's to warn me of some looming apocalypse."

"None taken, Kal. I would feel the same way in your place. Not to worry though. This is an unofficial trip, not sponsored by the Legion. I'm here on sort of a..." Rokk paused like he was trying to find the right words, "research project."

"What? You mean like a college paper or something?" Clark asked in disbelief. He had hoped for the sake future of students that they would have done away with those. "_I guess some things never change," _he thought.

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just something that's been bothering me since our first meeting. I told you we had no record of Chloe Sullivan being in your life. We couldn't find any record of Chloe Sullivan anywhere. The history books mention Pete, Lana, Jimmy; Hell, Kal, they even mention Shelby, but no where do they mention Chloe Sullivan. The history books talk about Oliver and the rest of the JLA and their secret identities. They don't give the secret identity of The Watchtower. I put two and two together," Rokk explained.

"You didn't say Lois. Isn't she mentioned?" Clark asked, fearing that Rokk would say no.

Rokk looked at him like he had suddenly turned green and sported a shiny set of purple antlers. "Of course she's mentioned, there is an entire library in New Paris devoted to historical romances called the Lois Lane Library. My girlfriend and I went as you guys to the last History-Con," Rokk looked embarrassed. "Please don't tell anyone I go to those. Anyway, after the Doomsday thing, I was sure she would show up. Nothing happened. I even checked copies of Lois' diaries and Chloe isn't mentioned by name, only 'my cousin', and no I won't tell you what she says about you...spoilers aren't any fun." Rokk grinned.

"I know Lois' writing very well, and that doesn't sound like her at all. Wait, what do you mean you guys dressed up like us?" Clark asked.

"Nothing, forget I mentioned it, _please_, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl will never let me hear the end of it if they find out I go to History-Cons, let alone dress up to go them," Rokk pleaded. He regained his composure. "I only had copies of Lois' diaries to work from until I stumbled across an original from when she was in 5th grade. It had nothing to do with you, so it wasn't kept with the others in the main vault. I found Chloe's name. Kal, someone has been altering documents, computer files, you name it in an effort to make it look like Chloe never existed. They did a thorough job."

Clark was silent for a few moments while he digested what Rokk had told him. While he was thinking, Clark noticed Rokk looked nervous. "What aren't you telling me, Rokk? I can tell you are nervous about something," Clark said.

Rokk sighed."When I said this was an unofficial trip, I meant it. In fact, I was told by the head of Temporal Operations to leave it alone. He said it didn't affect the time stream and we had bigger problems on our hands taking out the Time Agency. I'm here without permission, against orders."

"Who do you think is behind this and why would they go through all this trouble?" Clark asked.

Jack had a pretty good idea of both the who and the why. He had been hiding at the barn door listening in on the conversation. Jack had just pulled into the driveway when his wristband alerted him to a temporal shift. Jack had quickly located the source and ran to the barn. When he had heard Chloe's name, he decided not to burst in and instead waited to find out what he could. He listened to what Rokk had described and knew what was going on. Jack opened the barn door and said, "Listen kid, drop the investigation of Chloe Sullivan."

Clark watched Rokk's expression suddenly go from fear to defeat at hearing Jack's voice. "Shit, I am so dead," Rokk muttered under his breath. Clark saw that Jack was standing in the doorway, suddenly very imposing.

"You going to introduce to me to you friend?" Jack asked coldly.

Jack had meant the question for Clark, who had taken a breath to answer when Rokk answered instead, surprising both Clark and Jack. "Captain Harkness, this Kal-El of the house of El. Kal, this is Captain Harkness, head of Temporal Operations."

Clark thought he should have been immune to surprises by now when it came to Jack, but learning he was with the Legion was just too weird. He looked at Jack's face for some kind of confirmation and saw from Jack's confused look he thought it was weird as well. Jack met his gaze and shrugged his shoulders. Rokk looked back and forth from Kal to Jack not sure of what was going on.

Clark was the first one to chuckle. Jack soon followed. "Rokk Krinn, may I present Captain Jack Harkness, until recently the head of Torchwood, Chloe's boyfriend," Clark said.

Rokk looked like he had been stunned by Lightning Lad. "Huh?" he said. Rokk suddenly caught on, "You're not him are you, I mean _our_ him, the Legion's Captain, are you? How old is that coat anyway?" Rokk asked.

"Never heard of you guys before, so no, I'm not him, but I guess I will be at some point. Damn, I hate spoilers, and I really like this coat," Jack said somewhat disappointedly. He really disliked spoilers, but at least he knew he got to keep his coat.

Everything suddenly fell into place for Rokk, his eyes loosing focus as he put the pieces together. "It was you this whole time. You're the one who erased Chloe from history. If you weren't, you would be furious about it in the future, since you're dating her now," Rokk blurted out. "Why, why do this? Why make it so the future doesn't know about her? Or, has that decision not come up yet?" Rokk thought belatedly. "_My Captain is so going to kick my ass for screwing with his personal time stream," _Rokk thought.

"Its standard procedure now a days," Jack said matter of factly. Clark spun on him wondering what would cause him to keep the memory of Chloe from being known. "Think of it like witness protection. Some time after one of my lovers die, I begin the process of covering up their existence. I can get away with it. I'm not a celebrity like you know who." Jack jerked his thumb at Clark. "I was just starting on Steven's grandmother when Ianto died."

"You erase all traces of all your lovers?" Clark asked, sounding couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I was a time traveler and made a lot of enemies. Some can time travel too. In 1915, one particularly cruel bitch researched me and found out about one of my lovers. She killed him in front of me, gloated about how she had tracked him, and tried to make her escape. I was able to jam her rift manipulator; keeping her there long enough for me to get my hands around her neck," Jack said. "I wanted to kill her, but I stopped. I gave in to my darker side instead."

Clark wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer, but he asked anyway, "If you didn't kill her, what did you do?"

Jack looked into Clark's eyes and Clark was the one who had to look away. "I rigged a special temporal stasis field using her rift manipulator and some alien life support equipment I had salvaged. I made it so she couldn't move or speak and was kept alive indefinitely by way of the life support. After that I painted her gold and put in a pair of gold colored contact lenses," Jack said.

"Saturn Girl always was creeped out by that one statue in the lobby," Rokk muttered.

"By erasing all traces of them after they have died, I am able to protect them while they are alive," Jack explained.

Rokk sighed. "I guess that clears things up. Hey wait a minute, you knew I was going to do this?" Rokk asked. Knowing a rhetorical question when he heard one, Jack didn't answer. "Which explains why the code on the door was so easy to break today," Rokk said as he snapped his fingers.

"If I give you a hard time, just remind me that I had to where Ianto's belt buckle in public," Jack said with a grin.

"Thanks," Rokk replied. "Sorry to keep barging in on you, Kal."

"Its ok, Rokk. This time there was no end of the world to avert," Clark said as he held out his hand and shook Rokk's. Rokk let go, touched his ring, and disappeared. When he did, Jack's wristband chirped.

Clark and Jack stared at each other in silence until finally Jack spoke, "I'm guessing that you don't approve of my methods. Well, we should have this talk now rather than later. I've killed people. I even killed my own grandson to save thousands of other children. That stasis field I was talking about, I found a bomb from the Time War that did the same thing and used it on the planet of the things that forced me to kill my grandson. I orbited the planet, told them what I was going to do so they would have a moment of pure terror and detonated the bomb. That planet is now separated from the rest of the Universe, replaying the same second over and over again. I have done horrible things, Clark, but I do what I can, when I can, to protect this planet and those I love. If you have a problem with this, let me know." Jack finished his speech and waited for Clark to answer.

Clark thought about what Jack said. His speech reminded him of what a recent Iraq vet had told him about the things he had had to do during the war. Clark realized both of these men were soldiers, both heroes forced to make hard choices. As far as the whole stasis thing went, it sounded a lot nicer than phantom zone, which his own father had developed. Clark walked to Jack and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. Words were unnecessary.

"Jack, this only goes to prove why I shouldn't tell Lois my secret and not have a relationship with her, " Clark said.

"You're wrong, Clark. You a pivotal figure in history. So is Lois. Because of this, you have multiple groups looking out for your welfare, monitoring the time flow around you. I can think of three off of the top of my head, one of them being the most powerful time traveler in the history of the Universe," Jack explained. "Direct actions against you or her will bring a lot of temporal firepower."

"So what you're saying is that you and some cosmic buddies have got my back?" Clark said with a smile. Clark became thoughtful, "Jack, I really like Lois and I value her friendship more than anything. I don't know what I would do if she couldn't accept me as an alien."

"Clark, ask yourself a different question for once. What would you do if she accepted you?" Jack asked with insight.

Clark pushed through his fears and saw a life with Lois at his side. He realized he would never have moments of rest or quiet and that made him happy. She would push him to be more. She would continue to draw out the more confident side of him. He would love her forever. Clark thought about the random kisses they had shared and the wonderful feelings that had come from their embraces. He realized that as a couple these experiences would be multiplied exponentially. How could he not risk going for it?

Jack could almost see the cartoon light bulb light up over Clark's head. He decided it was time to go for the kill. "Hey Clark, I've been to that library in New Paris. Their erotic section gave me a whole notebook worth of ideas," Jack said. Clark's face turned bright red. Clark was saved from further stories of Jack's erotic musing by Jack's cell-phone ringing. Jack answered it. His face lit up. "That is a great idea. Clark wanted to go to that new place on 5th and I happen to have a spare uniform from when I was in the RAF in WWII. Clark and I can go as squadron mates…. Good call, I'll set it up with Ollie." He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Set what up with Ollie?" Clark asked curiously.

"The limo for you and Lois, of course," Jack said.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Lois and Chloe had taken the previous afternoon off and shopped for the perfect dresses for the evening's dance. They had driven home from Metropolis at break neck speed so they could have a few extra moments to get ready. Chloe had decided to get ready with Lois rather than at her new place in the city. The cousins thought it was always more fun doing stuff like that together. Lois was putting the final touches on to her hair while Chloe applied a tiny amount of make-up.

"Did Smallville tell you that his mom will be home for the weekend?" Lois asked Chloe, looking at the other woman's reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"No, he didn't. He's seemed kinda preoccupied for some reason," Chloe said. Lois bumped her cousin's hip with hers. "He doesn't have a curfew does he?" Chloe teased.

"He better not! He told me yesterday that she was coming in this morning and that he was going to take the day off to spend with her. He said that way he wouldn't feel bad leaving her alone on her first night back. She insisted he go out on the town with friends," Lois said. "I hope Mrs. K. is all right with me dating Smallville. I think of her as a mom and what she thinks about me really means a lot," Lois admitted.

"She loves you Lois, and if you love her son, what could she not like about it?" Chloe asked. Chloe's cell-phone rang twice and then silenced. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Curtain call, Lois. The boys are downstairs," she said.

Martha Kent had driven to the Talon to take pictures of Clark and Lois on their first real date. She knew it was corny, but she was a mother and it was her prerogative. She was also interested in meeting this new boyfriend of Chloe's. From what little Clark had told her, Jack had been instrumental in finally getting Clark to admit his feelings for Lois. She owed this young man a debt of gratitude. She was also curious to meet him because Clark said he was someone who he could feel like himself around, like when he was Oliver and the gang. She knew he couldn't say more over the telephone, especially with her being in Washington. Martha K. assumed that he was another meta-human.

Martha Kent was waiting at a table with a coffee and her camera when a limousine pulled up in front. At first she was worried it was Lex or that pompous little, brat Lana, but then she saw the vanity plate "QUEEN1". _"I guess Oliver is getting into the matchmaking mood as well," _Martha thought happily. She watched her son and another man step out. She was struck by how good they both looked in RAF blue. When they came inside, Clark walked over to her. The other man _walked _towards her as well. "_Good lord," _Martha thought, "_I wonder if Chloe would mind if I just have him walk back and forth a few times."_ Martha forced her eyes upwards and saw that the man was much older than she would have thought. He was in his late 30s to early 40s. His eyes twinkled with amusement.

Jack couldn't resist putting his friend on the spot. He upped the level on his pheromones and put on his best smile. "You must be the lovely Senator Kent I have been hearing about. I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He reached out his hand to take Martha's.

Clark rolled his eyes and hit Jack in the shoulder. "JACK!" Clark warned. Jack winked at Martha causing her to her to laugh. Clark heard the door to the apartment shut. He nudged Jack. "Here they come," he whispered. Jack walked quickly to the base of the stairs.

Chloe was the first one to reach the top of the stairway. She saw Jack standing at the foot of the stairs in his RAF uniform. She noticed that the rank insignia was indeed captain. His ever present coat was tossed over one arm like when they first met. He looked handsome as ever. She was tempted to skip the dance and have the driver drop them off at the Watchtower.

Martha Kent smiled at Chloe's choice in clothing for the evening. The dark yellow business dress had a jacket that buttoned down the front and a matching skirt. Martha noted the differences between the 1940's style suit Chloe wore and the type women wore today. The jacket was taken in at the waist to show off a woman's curves rather than try to make her look like a man. Chloe had chosen a beret style hat to finish off the look. From the looks Jack was giving her, he approved whole heartedly of her choices. Martha wondered if anyone had bothered Chloe about dating someone who might be twice her age. Martha saw the happiness in Chloe's eyes and decided that if anyone did, she would be having some choice words of her own with them. Jack led Chloe off to the side and Clark took Jack's place at the base of the stairs.

When Lois stepped onto the landing, Clark thought that his heart might stop. He had always thought Lois was pretty and over the past year had come to realize she was beautiful. However even knowing she was beautiful could not have prepared him for what he saw then. Lois was wearing a shimmery red evening gown that would look good in any decade. The sash around her waist crossed across her chest becoming the shoulder straps. This created a tremendously low, plunging neckline. The gown was split up one side to mid thigh. Clark wasn't sure he was going to be able to remember how to speak let alone dance tonight.

Lois glided down the stairs like a silver screen goddess. She reveled in the stares she was getting from Clark, but she wanted those stares in private, later. Lois elbowed Clark in the ribs, "Breathe, Smallville. I'm not carrying your huge carcass all the way back to the farm if you pass out," she said. Clark blinked twice. Before he could respond, Lois took his hand and walked over to Martha Kent.

"Hi, Mrs. K. How does it feel to be back in Kansas?" Lois asked.

Martha was beaming. "_Finally these two figure it out. He better come clean about his secret or I might just do it for him!" _Martha thought. "It's great to back, especially since I get to see how good you two look together. Ok, I want a group picture. Chloe and Lois in the center with you two handsome gentlemen standing behind them," Martha said. After that she took photos of them individually and as couples. Martha laughed as Jack hammed it up for his photo. She thought it was sweet that Lois and Clark seemed to enjoy the awkwardness of the whole real first date thing and yet were able to rely on their closeness to each other. Martha grinned as she listened to them leave the Talon and get into the limo.

"Hurry up, Smallville! I don't want to miss our dinner reservations," Lois said.

"We'll be fine, Lois. Just do me a favor and don't order for me like you did at that Indian place last month," Clark reminded her.

"Hey, it's not my fault those two dishes sounded alike. Besides it's not like that goat had a use for those anymore anyways, I was eating the rest of him," she teased. Clark laughed at their easy banter and got into the limo.

The dinner had gone off without a hitch. Jack even managed to keep his stories to an "R" rating and within the last 100 years. They all laughed and shared a good meal. The banter between Lois and Clark was a little light due to the fact that Clark spent quite a bit of time just smiling at Lois with his farm-boy innocent smile. Clark was glad that Lois couldn't read minds, because his thoughts were anything but innocent. At least he was pretty sure she couldn't. There was that one time before desert she had snapped her fingers and told him her eyes were up there. Chloe had had to bite her lip to avoid laughing at how red Clark had gotten.

After dinner, the limousine dropped them off in front of the Metropolis Ball Room. There were people lined up to get inside and several of them were jockeying to see who the limo had dropped off. The most of the women and a few of the men in line made appreciative comments as they saw Clark and Jack get out. The rest of the crowd followed suit when the men helped Lois and Chloe out. The couples walked past the line up to the front door. Clark had been uncomfortable about this at first, but he had been to enough functions with first Lex and then Oliver to get accustomed to it.

Jack walked up to the door man letting people in. A second doorman approached, this one was older, dressed in a WWII Army uniform costume. He was carrying a clipboard. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you four on the VIP list?" he asked very politely.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said, "These are my friends Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane, and Clark Kent."

"Welcome Captain, on behalf of the Museum I would like to thank you for your very generous donation. We have a table set aside for you and your party and all of the drinks are complimentary. One other thing, Captain Harkness, those uniforms you and Mr. Kent are wearing are outstanding. I am something of a WWII buff and if it weren't for the fact that they look brand new, I would say they were authentic WWII RAF uniforms. You'll have to give me the name of the person who does your costumes." The museum man saw another group coming to the VIP door. "Alas duty calls, have a wonderful evening."

As they walked inside Clark whispered to Jack, "You actually wore these during WWII didn't you?" Clark rubbed the wool jacket between his thumb and forefinger.

"Yeah, I've some equipment that will revolutionize dry-cleaning in about 100 years stowed away in my trunk. How do think I keep my coat looking like new?" Jack asked.

They found a table to the side of the dance floor that was mostly hidden in shadows. There was a placard on it that said it was reserved for the Captain Harkness party. Jack had thought ahead and made sure there were only 4 chairs. The big band started to play and Jack whisked Chloe off to the dance floor, leaving Lois and Clark alone.

Lois sat down next to Clark. "_Time to start the field maneuvers of Operation Smallville," _Lois thought. She took a small compact out of her purse and pretended to check her makeup. Instead of putting it back in her purse, she put in down on the table so she could see Clark's expressions without having to face him. "This looks like fun," she said as she looked around the room. She glanced in the small mirror to see Clark look around and nod.

"Yeah, it does," Clark said. "Jack and Chloe sure look like they're having a good time."

Lois decided to lay her snare. "It does doesn't it. We'll have to thank Jack later for setting this whole thing up. But for now, I feel like dancing," Lois said. She purposefully kept her face away from Clark, but watched his in the mirror. She pretended to scan the dance floor. "I just need to figure out who to dance with," she said nonchalantly. Lois watched Clark's expression become panicked. "_Hook,"_ she thought. "I don't know, Smallville, who do think I should ask?" Lois asked him, pretending to be sincere. She watched his jaw set in determination. "_Line," _she thought. Clark all of sudden relaxed, a smile coming to his lips. He stood up and took Lois by the hand. As Clark led Lois to the dance floor, Lois thought, " _And…Sinker. Operation Smallville is a go!"_

Clark was chuckling as he and Lois made their way through the crowd to the dance floor. "What's so funny, Smallville?" Lois asked.

"The whole mirror on the table thing. It took me a little while to catch on," Clark said. He took Lois's hand and put his other hand on her waist.

"_Busted!" _Lois thought. "Ok, farm-boy, if you caught on, why didn't you call me on it before we got to the dance floor?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you anyway, you are my date after all," Clark answered. "I wanted to make sure I made it here without you ditching me for some other guy."

"I might ditch you to get at a story, but that is the only time I would try to get rid you, Smallville," Lois said. Lois wrapped her arms around Clark's neck, forcing him to hold her tighter as they danced.

"Are you feeling ok, Lois. Earlier you sounded like you were actually being nice to me," Clark teased. Lois turned her head to glare at him, causing him to laugh. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Promise me you will always be there to bust my chops and knock me down a few pegs."

"_God, I love this man. Who else would ask that?" _Lois had a coy smile on her face as she nodded to Clark. She looked up at him and said, "I'll promise, but I have one condition."

"What?" he asked.

"You shut up and kiss me already," she demanded. Clark lowered his head and brought his lips to hers. Lois tightened her arms around Clark's neck, drawing them even closer. The world seemed to fade away, until they heard applause. The broke the kiss and looked around. The music had stopped and they were surrounded by couples happily clapping for them. Jack and Chloe were leading the group. Jack made a motion and the band started playing again, giving the new couple some semblance of privacy. Lois and Clark smiled shyly at each other, but did not break their embrace or leave the dance floor.

Lois and Clark had danced for a few songs when they ran into Chloe who looked puzzled. "Have you guys seen Jack?" Chloe asked, "He said he had to take care of something and then disappeared. His coat and uniform jacket are at the table."

"No, I haven't seen him, but I think he will be all right. He is probably just flirting with a vending machine or something," Lois said, causing Chloe to laugh. The music died down and the band leader came up to the mic.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, normally we don't allow guests to come up here and sing, but I met this man back when we did a gig in Cardiff, Wales. I saw him dancing out in the crowd and asked if he would grace us with at least one song. He agreed if I left him dedicate it to his new friends and how they should treat the future. I could never resist this man. Please, welcome Captain Jack Harkness," the band leader said.

"Oh, no. He isn't…" Clark began.

"Don't worry, Smallville. He has a really nice voice," Lois told him. She reached over and squeezed Chloe's hand and gave her a small smile, letting her know when she had heard him sing. Chloe walked over to the bar. Lois and Clark headed back to the table. The lights came up on stage and Jack was standing in front of the band in his blue shirt and suspenders.

**Anything Goes**** by Cole Porter**

**In olden days a glimpse of stocking **

**Was looked on as something shocking, **

**But now, God knows, **

**Anything Goes.**

**Good authors too who once knew better words, **

**Now only use four letter words **

**Writing prose, Anything Goes.**

**The world has gone mad today **

**And good's bad today, **

**And black's white today, **

**And day's night today, **

**When most guys today **

**That women prize today **

**Are just silly gigolos.**

**And though I'm not a great romancer **

**I know that I'm bound to answer **

**When you propose, **

**Anything goes.**

**When grandmama whose age is eighty **

**In night clubs is getting matey with gigolo's, **

**Anything Goes. **

**When mothers pack and leave poor father **

**Because they decide they'd rather be tennis pros, **

**Anything Goes.**

**If driving fast cars you like, **

**If low bars you like, **

**If old hymns you like, **

**If bare limbs you like, **

**If Mae West you like **

**Or me **_**undressed**_** you like, **

**Why, nobody will oppose!**

**When every night, **

**The set that's smart **

**Is indulging in Torchwood parties in studios, **

**Anything Goes.**

Lana Luthor had walked into the dance alone as usual. Lex and she rarely went to these functions together. She didn't like him crimping her style. Right after she had entered she heard the band leader introduce his friend. "_Sounds like the band leader is queer as Tess Mercer on the 3 dollar bill. I guess the singer probably is too," _she thought. The lights came up on stage and she thought, "_What a waste, that guy is cute. Hold on, is that the guy Clark was with?" _Lana made her way to the bar and ordered a drink. She saw Chloe standing at the end the bar, watching in rapture. Lana sidled up next to her and waited for the singing to stop. "He's pretty good isn't he," Lana said.

"You have _no_ idea," Chloe said without thinking. She realized who she was talking to. "Hello, Lana. What brings you here?" She said coldly.

"You know how the Luthors like to donate to charities and how much I like to dance. As an added bonus, I get to listen to a really cute guy sing. Sounds like a pretty good evening," Lana said.

Chloe couldn't resist. "Yeah, he is pretty cute isn't he. He's really good in bed too," Chloe said.

"Chloe, I'm sure your friends have told you that he is, but let's face it; there is no way he would be into you. He's probably gay, and if he isn't why on Earth would he want you with me standing right here?" Lana asked. She waited eagerly for the hurt look to show on Chloe's face, instead she was treated to a confident smile.

"Looks like he might be headed this way. I'll make a bet with you Lana. If he goes home with you tonight instead of me, I'll be a servant at the Luthor mansion for a week," Chloe offered. "If he ends up going home with me, you give an exclusive interview to Lois Lane on a topic of her choice."

"Agreed," Lana said holding out her hand to shake.

Chloe shook Lana's hand and looked over at the bartender who had been listening in on the conversation with amusement. "You heard the bet, right?" Chloe asked. The bartender nodded her head, never having liked Lana Luthor. "We have a witness, Lana."

"Good, Chloe. I hope you like scrubbing toilets wearing a French-maids outfit. I'm sure Lex will enjoy it," Lana said.

Jack made his way to the bar and saw Chloe talking with a brunette that his instincts told him was pure trouble, and not in a fun way. He figured this must be the infamous Lana Luthor. As he approached he watched Chloe for any indication of how to handle this. The other woman spoke first. "That was truly amazing singing. You have a great voice. Do you have time for us to buy you a drink and for you to settle a friendly wager between my friend and me?" Lana asked. Jack picked up on the slight catch in her voice when she said "friend". He glanced slightly over at Chloe who gave him a wink.

Jack amped up his pheromone production to max and smiled at Lana. "I always have time to let two beautiful women buy me a drink," he said. Lana put her arm through Jack's and led him to the bar. Jack offered his other arm to Chloe.

While Lana was next to Jack she got a full dose of his 55th century pheromones. "_God, this guy smells great!"_ Lana thought. "_I can't wait to get him back to the mansion while Lex is away on business." _Jack ordered his drink and let Lana pay, even though his drinks had been comped for the evening.

Jack turned around, leaning his back against the bar. "So ladies, how can I be of _service_ to you?" Jack purred. He flashed his smile and put an arm around both women. Chloe smiled at the thought of what her lover's advanced physiology was doing to Lana.

"Well, we made a little wager involving you," Lana admitted. "You see we bet on who would get to take you home tonight," she said. Lana ran her hand down the front of his uniform. "You need to decide if you're going home with me to my mansion, or home with _her _to her little apartment over a coffee shop," Lana informed him.

"I don't live there anymore," Chloe said.

"Oh I'm sorry, did your cousin finally get tired of your neediness and toss you out?" Lana asked. "I guess that helps you figure out where your headed, huh?" she asked Jack.

Jack let go of Chloe and leaned in towards Lana. He stopped mere inches from her face. Lana was intoxicated by his scent. Jack showed her his perfect white teeth. Lana took it for smile. Chloe knew it for what it was: a predator baring his fangs. "I had already made up my mind before I talked with you. This conversation only reinforced what I had already knew," Jack said. He leaned over, blowing softly into Lana ear, and then whispering, "I'll be going home with my girlfriend tonight. You know, that whole thing about all my stuff being at _our_ apartment and not mention the fact that I am deeply in love with her. I will give you one warning… if you ever act like that towards her in front of me again, you'll regret it, Mrs. Luthor." Jack stepped back and was satisfied with the dumbstruck look on her face. He walked over to Chloe and gave her a passionate kiss before they both turned their backs on Lana and walked back to their table.

Lana was stunned. "_How could that little bitch snare someone like that?" _Lana asked herself. She was broke out of that line of thought by the second surprise of the evening, Clark dancing with Lois. "_Oh, poor Clark. That guy and Chloe must have insisted he come here tonight. He must not have been able to get a date, so he brought that bit-bull, Lane," _she thought, "_It's my civic duty to save the poor guy. Besides, I could do with some good worship from Clark." _

Lana made her way around the dance floor, careful to stay hidden from Chloe. When the song ended she approached Clark. "Hello, Clark," Lana said. She was surprised to see him jump like he was startled by her. Lana was happy to see the glares Lois was shooting her way. "You look great, Clark. I always thought you would look good in a uniform," she said. "Lois, you don't mind if I cut in for the next dance do you?" Lana said with saccharine sweetness.

"_Hell yes! I mind you evil bitch!" _Lois thought, "_But if I smother Smallville, I'll be just as bad you."_ Lois released her embrace around Clark's neck and took a step back. She let one of her hands drop into Clark's. To keep from slapping the smug look off of Lana's face, Lois kept her eyes on Clark's. She was surprised to see a somewhat vacant look in his eyes; then all of sudden his grip on her hand tightened slightly. Lois couldn't find the right words to describe it, but now his eyes seemed more intense and stronger than she could ever remember seeing them. A new fire burned behind his eyes. _Her_ Smallville smiled.

Lana had asked Clark if she could cut in on Lois. The Lois he had kissed tonight and had dreamed about for the last year. Lois had let her embrace go. By not saying anything, Lois had told him it was his decision. Clark had never been able to deny Lana anything before, but he didn't want to stop dancing with the woman he knew he was in love with. His senses all faded out except for his sense of touch. He felt Lois' hand in his. She was beside him, giving him strength. Clark felt a surge of energy course through him as he drew on Lois' belief in him to believe in himself. He could almost hear the circuit close inside his body. He smiled.

"She may not mind, but I do, Lana. I'm spending the evening dancing with my girlfriend and I want to get as many dances in with her as possible. So if you don't mind…" Clark said as he led Lois onto the dance floor next to Jack and Chloe.

"_Way to go, Smallville!" _Lois thought as she wrapped her arms around Clark again. She couldn't remember being more proud of him, or more having been given a better ego boost. Lois shook her hair back and looked up at Clark. "Girlfriend, Smallville?" she asked.

"Yes, Lois, girlfriend," Clark said softly.

Lois put her head on Clark's chest as they danced slowly. "I like the sound of that, Smallville."

Lana stormed off to the front doors cursing like a sailor. She was putting on her coat when she bumped into a blonde man who had just come in. "Pardon me," the man said in a British accent. Lana glared at him. The man was dressed in a neat period 3 piece suit. His hair was cut very short. He had piercing blue eyes and a charming smile. "You seem upset, is there anything I can do?" he asked.

Lana was furious with the others for making her look like a fool. "I just had a man who should love only me, be corrupted by a little blonde bitch and some new comer who has screwed everything up," she blurted out.

"That's horrible," he said. "I know what's like to be scorned when what you really deserve is to be idolized. Why don't you point these people out to me," he offered.

"The big guy with the brunette over there is the one who should be mine," Lana said as she pointed to Lois and Clark. "The other guy in blue with that little blonde tramp is the one who is stirring up trouble," Lana said as she gestured at Jack and Chloe.

The man's eyed narrowed as he recognized Jack Harkness. "I'm sure he _is_ causing all kinds of trouble. It's what he's good at. I think I can be of great help to you. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Harold Saxon," the Master said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The USO dance had ended and the two couples were standing on the top steps outside of the ballroom. Lois was holding onto Clark's hand and leaning her head on his shoulder. Jack fished out a valet ticket out of his pants' pocket. "Oliver needs his limo back?" Lois asked him, noticing the ticket in his hand.

"Nope, the limo is on loan for the weekend. Jack and I are headed back to the Watchtower. Watching him tell off Lana like that made me interested in some one on one time with my dashing Captain," Chloe explained. Lois knew exactly what Chloe was thinking. She had witnessed something of a miracle herself when Clark had told of Lana. That incident had triggered some non-chaste thoughts in her as well.

Clark eventually caught on about the limo as it pulled up in front. "So what you're saying is that I have to put up with her all the way back to Smallville by myself?" he asked. Clark winked at Lois.

"You two wouldn't do that to us would you?" Lois asked Jack and Chloe with a grin. She scrunched up her shoulders, "I might get farm cooties or contract a virus that makes me type really slow or something." Chloe noticed that they were still holding hands. After a small pause Lois said, "I don' think they're buying it, Smallville."

"Me either," Clark agreed, "Oh well. I guess that means I can get away with this then." He wrapped his arms around Lois and gave her a long kiss. They broke off their kiss to the applause of people walking by and a photo flash. The man with the camera ran over and began talking.

"Sorry folks, normally I ask permission before I take photos of people kissing. I'm not some sleazy photographer from the Inquisitor; in fact I work for the Daily Planet. I just couldn't help myself. You two looked like something out of a D-Day parade," the photographer said.

"Hey, Craig," Lois and Clark said in unison.

The photographer did a double take. "Lois Lane? I….wow…wow…you look great. Sorry I didn't recognize you. I guess the dress sort of took my eyes off of your face," he said with an embarrassed shrug. "And look at you Clark. I would never think of Clark Kent in anything other than a business suit or his flannels, especially not a uniform." The photographer thought for a moment. "Normally I would ask for a release to be signed, but you guys work for the Planet so I don't have to; but since it's you guys I'll ask. Do you mind I ask Tess to print this in the Social column?"

Lois could just imagine Lana's reaction. "You have our permission," she said.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys on Monday," the photographer said as he packed his camera up and walked away.

"Now off with you two," Jack said as he ushered Lois and Clark towards the limo. When they were walking towards it on their own, he turned around and walked back to Chloe. Jack yelled down to Clark while giving him something resembling a salute, "Hey Cark, don't do anything I wouldn't."

Lois looked at Clark as he helped her into the limo. She looked like she was trying to figure out a puzzle in her head. "What exactly would Jack _not _do?" she asked him.

Clark sat down next to her and shook his head, "I think there are some things we are best left not knowing."

"I get your point, Smallville. Kind of like whether or not Lex is a boxer or briefs guy,' Lois joked. She cuddled up next to him. The privacy screen was up and they were unable to see the driver. Lois pressed the intercom button and said, "Take us to Smallville, please. The Talon coffee house on Main Street." She looked at Clark with a shy grin and said in a low voice, "Since your mom is at the farm, I guess we should head to my place."

Excitement and panic warred in Clark's head at the prospect of going back to Lois' place when a familiar voice came over the intercom, "Will do, Miss Lane. I am supposed to tell you _Mr. Kent _that you are to sit back and let us take care of everything this weekend, compliments of Mr. Queen and Captain Harkness." Clark used his x-ray vision to look through the privacy screen and saw the unmistakable melding of human and mechanical skeleton of his friend Victor. Victor must have guessed what Clark would do, because he had one hand on the wheel and the other was giving him a thumbs up sign. "One other thing, Captain Harkness left something in the bar he said was for emergency purposes only. He said you would understand, Mr. Kent," Victor said.

Lois looked at Clark quizzically and opened up the mini-bar in the limo. It didn't take long to figure out what was out of place. Lois picked up a softly glowing bottle of violet colored liquid. The markings on the label as well as the note attached to it were in what Lois assumed to be an alien language. The only thing she could make out was the signature on the bottom of the note, "With Love, Captain Jack Harkness" it read. She handed the bottle to Clark, asking "Do you have any clue as to what this is, because I'm sure as hell am not drinking anything that glows on its own."

Clark looked at the bottle in amazement. The label and note were all written in Kryptonian. If he understood the date on the bottle correctly, it was from prior to the fall of his home planet. He rolled it over in his hand and couldn't help but laugh. He knew Lois would ask, but God help him, he had to laugh. The huge symbol on the front was the Kryptonian symbol for the Phantom Zone. Below that were symbols that could be translated as roughly "from Jack-Jor bottling".

Lois took the bottle away from him. "I think maybe you've had a too much already. We can look at the pretty bottle later. Right now I'm more interested in you, Smallville," Lois purred. She put the bottle back in the bar and pressed Clark back into the seat. Lois ran her hand through Clark's black hair and leaned forward to kiss him. Clark eagerly returned the kiss. They continued like this for most of the way to Smallville. Things went well until Lois unbuttoned his uniform jacket and ran her hands down the front of his shirt.

Lois started to tug his shirt out of his pants when Clark reached down and stopped her hands and said, "Wait."

Lois took a deep breath and then looked over her shoulder at the privacy screen. She gave him a naughty grin, "It's called a privacy screen for a reason, Smallville. We can unplug the intercom too in case you're worried that he might be listening in."

"Huh?" Clark said. "Oh no, it's not that. Well, ok, maybe part of it's that. I don't want our first time to be I the back of one of my friend's cars; no matter how nice it is. No, you see there is something I need to talk to you about before we go any further."

Clark had been rehearsing this speech over and over again in preparation for this very moment. As usual Lois Lane threw him a curve ball. "Did Lana give you herpes?" Lois asked with concern. Clark had tried to anticipate all the questions Lois might ask him; this was not one of them.

"What? No…no…nothing like that," Clark stammered.

Lois couldn't resist playing with her man before letting him off the hook. "Considering how we were kissing just a minute ago, I'm pretty sure you're not gay. Has Jack talked you into swinging both ways?" she asked. Clark couldn't even respond to that one other than opening and closing his mouth a couple of times. She punched him in the arm, laughing. "I know, you're the Blur," Lois giggled. She watched as the color drained from Clark's face. She realized what Clark was finally trying to tell her and she gently put her hand on Clark's cheek. "I know you're the Blur," she said softly.

"For how long?" Clark whispered.

Lois gave him a sympathetic smile. She brushed the hair on his forehead to the side. "I've suspected for awhile. I mean come on, Smallville, Lois Lane here – top reporter in the state. Too many coincidences, too many freaks out to kick your ass…too many times that you have saved my life when it wasn't possible for a normal person to do it," she said.

A tear glinted in Clark's eye. "I've wanted to tell you for so long, Lois, but I was afraid. I was afraid you wouldn't accept me or want me anymore. You see there is more to it than just being the blur," Clark said. Lois looked at him patiently as he took a deep breath. Lois put a finger on lips to silence him.

"You're an alien. You look like us, but you're not from this planet. Am I right?" Lois asked. Clark was awestruck. He forced himself to breathe and calm down. He should have guessed that the woman he loved would have put the pieces together. Lois watched Clark's expressions and knew she had hit the nail on the head. "I had already figured out the Blur part and then Jack showed up. Don't get me wrong, Smallville, I love him. He is a wonderful friend and I can't imagine not having him in our lives, but he is an _immortal_ and the ex-leader of a group that specializes in dealing with aliens. I didn't think him showing up in Smallville, Kansas was just for fun," Lois explained. "So are you and Jack both aliens?" she asked.

"That depends on your definition of alien, I guess," Clark said numbly. "We were both born on planets other than earth, but technically, Jack is human." Clark was operating on auto-pilot.

Lois saw the shock in Clark's face and knew she needed to comfort her man. He may not be human, but he was her man. "As you know, Smallville, I've seen you in all of your naked glory and from what I remember, you have all the parts that a human male does, if in somewhat larger proportions," Lois said. She managed to get Clark to chuckle. "Clark Kent, I don't give a rat's ass what planet you're from. You are mine, Smallville and I'm never letting go of you," Lois said. Clark wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. He buried his face in her neck and she felt warm tears along with his silent sobs of relief. Lois gently lifted his chin and passionately kissed him.

They felt the limo slow down and come to a stop. Lois gave Clark her best bedroom eyes and asked him, "Do I need to ask you up?" Lois felt a breeze and suddenly she was inside her apartment. Clark was holding her in his arms. He let her down. "I sort of planned ahead and set up some candles. Let me go find some matches real quick," Lois said. Clark grinned and then slowly turned around, lighting several candles with his heat-vision. "It is going to be so useful having you as a boyfriend," Lois teased.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Lex Luthor walked the halls of his mansion in Smallville towards his office. He had been on a business trip in South America when his wife, Lana, had called him and told him that he needed to come home right away. Lex knew full well that he didn't love her, but she was one of his most prized possessions. She was beautiful, adequate in bed, and for once was something that he had that Clark Kent wanted. Lana also had her moments of deviousness, so when she dropped the code words for power _and_ alien, he boarded his private jet and flew home immediately. He wasn't prepared for what he saw when he walked into his office at the mansion.

Lex opened the doors and saw a blonde man wearing a gray hoodie sitting at his desk. He had a heaping platter of fatty meats in front of him. Lana was sitting on the couch with a bemused smile. A small television was set up on a corner of the desk. Lex was about to say something when the man shushed him by holding up a finger. The man then spoke with a London accent, "Just a moment, we're getting to the best part." Lex walked behind the desk and saw the man was watching **Teletubbies**. Lex looked over at Lana who shrugged her shoulders. Lex jumped back quickly when the man suddenly reached over to the plate and devoured the food in an instant. "Aaahhh, meat," he sighed. The giant baby giggled on the show and the man turned off the TV.

The blonde man spun around in Lex's chair a few times and then stood up. He locked eyes with Lex and Lex felt a simultaneous cold chill and feeling of kinship wash through him. "Well…Lex Luthor, I finally get around to meeting you. You know I always felt like you were the son that I never bothered to have," he said. "Out of all the silly apes on this dirtball, you have the most potential. I was always interested in your career, seeing as it seemed to mimic my own at times," the man said.

Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, Lana chimed in, "Dear, do you remember the man I called you about earlier this week? The one I thought might have information on Clark's _biological _father? Mr. Saxon has agreed to provide us information on him as well as information on an alien threat to you in particular. He said he would only discuss it with you in person. He did tell me his information was reliable since he himself is an alien." Lana gave Lex an odd smile that told him she knew something he didn't and that irked him.

Lex studied the man's face and recognition dawned on him. He had donated a generous sum to this man's campaign fund. "Pardon me for being a bit skeptical, Mr. Saxon, but the last I heard you were human. Aliens have such a hard time getting elected to heads of state," Lex probed.

Lana looked at Lex in confusion. "Wait a minute. You're telling me that Mr. Seattle grunge wear over there is _the_ Harold Saxon, the Prime Minister of Great Britain that disappeared a week after taking office. I thought he was dead," Lana said in astonishment.

"So did I actually," Lex admitted. He was usually very good at keeping tabs on those who pretended to be dead versus those who really were.

"I was," Saxon said. "My kind can cheat death and come back from the grave over and over again. There was an itsy bitsy problem on this last come back and I'm stuck in this…form. As to me being a slightly less furry ape like yourself…" Saxon super-sped across the room to sit on the piano. The flesh on his skull became translucent and his bones glowed a cobalt blue. His face returned back to normal almost instantly. "I really don't think there's much of a question there do you?"

Lex glanced at the specialized Geiger counter he had installed under his desk. It registered no meteor rock radiation. "No, Mr. Saxon. I think you have demonstrated quite well that you are not from this planet. You mentioned an alien threat. One that is directed at me," Lex said.

Saxon slid off the piano. "Oh yes. I believe we can come to a very agreeable arrangement. You see, you help me recapture Jack Harkness and I'll help you defeat …Superman," Saxon said with gusto complete with jazz hands. He paused for dramatic affect and watched the blank looks on the Luthors' faces.

"Who?" Lana asked.

"Cute, Mrs. Luthor," Saxon replied sarcastically.

"Why would I need help defeating Nietzsche's ideal?" Lex asked him.

"Huh?" Saxon said in disbelief. He looked for any sign that they were joking. Seeing that they were serious, he tried to jog their memory. "Big guy - zooms around in the sky, wears blue tights and a cape…foils a lot of your big projects," Saxon said helpfully.

"I think I would remember a large, flying transvestite that likes to bother me," Lex said in irritation.

"By the Vortex, what kind of timeline am I stuck in? O..K..Let's try this. He wears a big letter 'S' inside a pentagon on his chest," Saxon tried.

"You mean 'the Blur'?" Lana asked. "He used to wear red and blue, but now he wears mostly black. People have described him wearing a symbol like the one you described."

"The _Blur?"_ Saxon asked incredulously. "The _Blur? _What kind of lame ass name is that for your adversary, Lex? That would be like me calling my foe 'Sigma' or something equally…dull," Saxon complained. "Trust me. The history books will sound a lot better when they mention the glorious battles between Lex Luthor and Superman rather than Lex Luthor and the _Blur_." Saxon slurred the last word like he was spitting out something distasteful.

"Whatever we want to call this individual, I take it he is the alien you warned me about?" Lex asked. Saxon nodded his head. "He has been a thorn in my side," Lex admitted. "What exactly do you want to trade in exchange for stopping him?"

"The man you have seen with your _friend_ Clark Kent is an old…associate of mine. He is something of an anomaly and I want to see what makes him tick. I once had him locked up for an entire year. During that year I found out some very interesting thing about him, but I have still so much to learn," Saxon said wistfully. "A person could spend lifetimes studying him. Too bad for him that most of that _research _involved coming up with unique and extremely painful forms of torture. We even had special names for the days we set aside to work on Jack," Saxon said, a smile of fond remembrance on his face.

Lana had been getting turned on by Saxon's talk of torture. "_Lex is getting lucky tonight,"_ she thought, "_Maybe a little bruised, but still getting lucky."_ When she heard him mention the special names for the days, she had to ask. "What did you call them?" she asked in a low throaty voice.

"I'm sorry, what?" Saxon asked.

"What did you call the days you set aside to torture this Jack Harkness?" Lana asked breathlessly.

"Oh, Tuesdays and Thursdays," he replied absently his mind all ready on other things. "Now the key to defeating both Harkness and Superman lies in their inherit weakness. Their idiotic decisions to form strong emotional attractions to people, especially sexual partners. I was shocked to find out that once Captain '_I'll stick my willy in anything that moves so you better stand still if you know what's good for you_' commits to a relationship, he falls madly in love with them," Saxon spit out. "As for Superman, his love for his mate has been written about for centuries and is known throughout this Galaxy. All we have to do is capture Jack's current fling and Lois Lane and they will both surrender to us willingly," Saxon said with a smile.

Lana turned pale and felt like she was going to be sick. Lex questioned Saxon, "Why Lois?"

Saxon calmly walked behind Lex and then smacked him upside the back of his bald head. "It's Clark Kent, stupid!" Saxon said like a stern school master.

Lana was scared that her husband was going to strike out at the alien who she knew was faster and stronger. She also knew he was better in bed. Instead of striking out, Lex began to laugh. "Finally! Finally confirmation!" Lex said happily. He put his arm around Saxon's shoulders and walked him over to the bar. "All of my resources are at your disposal, Mr. Saxon, and I insist you stay here as a guest at my mansion. We should begin planning at once."

Lana turned towards the fire. She knew Lex had missed a key point in what Saxon had said. He had spoken as if he had known what the history books that had yet to be written had to say. Her gut told her Saxon was more than just from out of town. He was from out of time. Lana watched the fire and her anger grew. Saxon had said that whole Galaxy knew of Clark's love for a woman and it wasn't her. "_How can that be? Clark's heart __**belongs**__ to me!"_ she thought. Telling her that the whole Galaxy celebrated the love story of Lois and Clark was like telling a preschooler that not only was Santa not bringing them any presents because he didn't like them, he was also out back butchering their puppy. "_It's that damned Harkness' fault! I don't care what Saxon or Lex wants. Harkness is a dead man and Clark will be mine again," _she vowed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Chloe yawned and stretched as she woke up. She looked at her clock on the nightstand and saw that her lover, Jack Harkness, had let her sleep in. She slipped out of bed and put on a yellow, satin robe. Chloe walked out into the kitchen area of the apartment she now shared with Jack. He was standing nude, as he usually did in the mornings, cooking breakfast for two while talking on his cell-phone. Chloe wrinkled her nose at the odd smell coming from the stove. She grabbed a bowl and some cereal and headed for the fridge to find some milk. Jack saw her and stuck out his tongue. Chloe sat down at the table and poured herself some cereal and listened in on Jack's side of the conversation.

"Tell Rhys that everything will be ok. The rift spike that happened last night is nothing to worry about," Jack said. He paused while he listened to the other person. "Gwen, you all ready said that. I know that _you_ never saw a reading that high, but trust me; nothing is going to come out of the rift on this one. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lull in things falling through for a while," he said. "No, I can't tell you how I know this. It's one of those things that could cause paradox. Now tell your Welsh hubby hi for me and have him ship me those things I requested. Good bye, Gwen," he said quickly.

Chloe had stopped with the spoon midway to her mouth when he mentioned paradox. "Universe ending or just planet ending paradox?" Chloe asked.

"Huh? Oh, no paradox actually. My omelets were burning and I wanted to get her off the phone," Jack said with his charming grin. He scooped the strange looking mixture onto a plate and sat down next to Chloe. "Judging from the looks you're giving me, I guess you don't want any?" he asked.

Chloe closed her eyes and leaned away from his meal for an instant. "It's all yours, Jack. Whatever _it _is," she teased.

"This happens to be a delicacy that I learned how to cook from a planet in the Raxis 7 system. The locals love it. I was there for 6 months doing a con and had nothing else to eat day after day. After a while the taste really grows on you," Jack said.

Chloe shuddered one more time and decided to change the topic. "So, can you tell me what you and Gwen were talking about?" she asked.

"Yeah. Last night there was a huge spike in temporal energy across the globe. This caused the rift monitoring equipment at Torchwood to light up like a Christmas display," Jack said. "This version of Torchwood has never seen such high readings and has never had any on record that were this high. Of course any readings this high usually change the records so they never show up anyway. What it usually does to me is give me a bad case of vertigo for a second," he said cryptically.

Jack knew Chloe loved puzzles and let her think through what he had said. "Ok, you know the rules. NO thinking without brain lubrication," she complained. She sighed as she saw the coffee machine had not been run. Jack still refused to either make or drink coffee out of respect for Ianto. He winked at Chloe and grabbed a chilled coffee drink out of the fridge for her. Chloe took a long swig before starting her analysis.

"These spikes that change records must be timeline changes, right?" she asked. Jack nodded. "That must be why Torchwood gets a high reading and then has no record of the reading or the event in the first place." She got a sour look on her face. "What is different about this one? And how would we know if time had changed anyway?" she asked.

"The first one is easy," Jack said. "Usually time shifts radiate from the rift in Cardiff. The closer you are, the more you are affected; like ripples in a pond. Since Torchwood has pretty much always been at ground zero, the shift erased any evidence of its existence. This one came from here so they finally were able to keep a reading of the temporal energy. They have no idea that the time line shifted however," he explained. "People in a shifted timeline don't know they are in a new one. History has changed and for them things are how they have always been." Jack said. "Here is where things get, as the Doctor puts it, 'timey wimey'. The only way to tell that the change has occurred is to observe the time stream from the outside like a Timelord or be someone traveling with one, or be me. Well, I guess the Daleks came up with another way, but I was never really clear how they did it," Jack said with a shrug.

"Wait, you said 'or be me'. What did mean?" Chloe asked. She knew that being unique in the Universe caused him pain at times. She reached over the table and held his hand. Jack squeezed her hand, glad for his lovers support.

"The best way to explain this is to first explain the Doctor's relationship to time and space. He exists outside of both. He and his time machine form a symbiotic relationship in where they are a universe unto themselves. The time machine creates the universe and he supplies the essence of time within it. This pocket universe is then able to move within the vortex that surrounds our universe; able to go to any point in time or space," Jack explained. "While _He_ exists outside of time and space, I am a fixed point in time and space. The temporal stream flows over and around me, but I can never be moved by it. Imagine sinking an immovable rod into a river. The fish can get caught up in the currents, but the rod stays put. An earthquake may even change the direction of the flow of the river, maybe even causing it to run in the opposite direction, but the rod is still there, unchanged," Jack said.

Chloe nodded to let him know she was following his explanation. She finished her coffee drink to make sure her brain kept up. "I'm that rod. When the timelines change, I feel it. I remember what had gone on before, but not the new history. Usually it is something small and I can wing my way through the changes. Sometimes they are big and they take me a while to research so I know what has changed in history so I don't look like an idiot," Jack said. He began to chuckle. "There was this one time that a shift worked out to my advantage," Jack said. "I had been called into the office in the early 30's for sexually harassing a coworker."

"You… never," Chloe said rolling her eyes.

"I know, personally I think his wife found out and he had to come up with a good story," Jack said. "Anyway, my boss at the time was a foul smelling, little troll of a man who was shouting at me from behind his desk about being proper and how homosexuality was illegal. When all of sudden my stomach lurched, his ugly posters changed into tasteful paintings, and he blurred out of existence. In his place was an attractive woman in her late 40's, completely undressed, lying on the desk. She asked me if anything was wrong and why I was wearing my clothes all of sudden. I decided it was time that I take my orders from my superior officer and I took care of business," Jack said.

"You're really lucky, Jack," Chloe said. "Things could have happened the other way around," she said as she picked up their plates and put them in the dishwasher. He made a disgusted face as he thought of the woman disappearing to be replaced by the homophobic, foul smelling jerk. She paused in the kitchen. "Have I changed? You know…since the time line shifted?" she asked him.

Jack stood up and walked over to Chloe. He undid the tie to her robe and looked at naked body. "You look the same to me," he said. He took Chloe in his arms. "You feel the same," he whispered to her. He nuzzled her hair. "You smell the same," Jack said. He tilted her head so that he could kiss her. They kissed passionately. "You taste the same," he said.

"I love you, Jack" she whispered to him as held him tightly.

"You sound the same," Jack finished. "You are the same Chloe Sullivan I fell in love with. If you change, I'll let you know. We don't go on shift for another couple hours; want to head back to bed?" Jack asked. Chloe led him by the hand back to their bedroom.

Chloe was humming a happy tune, brushing her hair while Jack showered. Her phone rang and she saw it was from Lois. "Hi, Lois. How was your night?" she asked.

"Operation Smallville was a complete success. With that said I can't believe you kept his secret from me all these years," Lois said right off the bat. Chloe gritted her teeth and waited for the tirade. "Don't get me wrong, Chloe. I know why you did what you did and I'm thankful Smallville has you for a friend and that you're my cousin, but you were always so terrible at keeping secrets when we growing up," Lois laughed. Chloe began to relax. "I was always able to get you to tell me what you got me for my birthday or what Lucy had told you not to tell me. How did you manage not to spill the fact that the guy I've had the hots for is an alien?" Lois asked.

"I guess he told you then?" Chloe said hesitantly.

"Duh, what do you think we're talking about? And like I said, Chloe I'm not mad. Smallville told me everything. Thanks for keeping his secret, it means a lot to him," Lois said.

"Ok, spill," Chloe said.

"A lady does not discuss her private affairs with men," Lois said haughtily.

"Lucky for me you're Lois Lane," Chloe said.

"Ouch…All I will say is that we got him over his fear of making love to a human pretty quickly," Lois said.

"NO WAY!" Chloe screamed happily. "How was it?" she asked. Jack peeked his head out from the bathroom and smiled. He gave a thumbs up sign to Chloe as he walked to the bedroom to get dressed. "Jack says hi by the way," Chloe said.

"Let me put it this way. You and I may end up being the two happiest women on this planet," Lois said in a husky voice. "Smallville is getting out the shower. I'll call you later, Cuz" Lois said.

Chloe hung up her phone and went looking for Jack. "Jack, I have great news for you," she said.

"I know. Lois and Clark are together now and have moved their relationship to a much deeper level. Deeper than what Lois told you on the phone," Jack told her.

"Ok, smartass. Explain how you knew that one?" she said crossing her arms across her chest. She was annoyed that he had stolen her thunder.

Jack walked past her and kissed her cheek, deflating her negative feelings towards him. "What do you think the event was that shifted the time line?" he asked her.

Chloe blinked in surprise. "Wow, that must have been some orgasm," she said.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Lex Luthor finished leading Harold Saxon on a tour of the new LexCorp II building since Queen Industries has purchased the old LexCorp building. He led the strange alien into a room where the floor, walls, and ceiling were all the same starling white. In the center of the room was a large, comfy, leather chair surrounded by monitors. "Here is your guest suite where you will be able to watch the multiple operations in progress from the operatives' camera," Lex told the Master. He motioned to the chair and said, "I'm sure you find the chair very comfortable and there is a menu with a list of refreshments."

The Master sat in the chair and bounced up and down a few times on the overstuffed cushion. He noticed Lex had walked out of the room and was watching him from the doorway. He sighed and said, "It is really is pretty Lex, but a prison cell is still a prison cell. All though the chair, TV screens, and room service are a nice touch. I do wonder how you plan on keeping me in here knowing I can just blast my way through a wall with an electric bolt."

Lex smiled as he shut the door and a recorded image of him appeared on all of the screens. "I knew you would ask that question Mr. Saxon. Our minds work so much alike. The reason you can't escape comes from something I remembered from an intro to engineering class I took. You see, inside the walls, ceiling, floors, and even that door is a simple copper mesh. Any kind of EM transmission that you throw will be absorbed and spread out harmlessly across the entire room," the video said.

The Master applauded. "Oh bravo, Lex, bravo! You built me a Faraday cage," he said to the screen.

"You are inside a giant Faraday cage," the image of Lex Luthor said.

"Yeah, I know. I already said that," the Master said, beginning to get annoyed.

"Now that you have given me the information I need to stop the alien invasion that begins with Clark, I no longer have a use for you…at the moment," Lex added after a brief pause. "We will keep you alive and in comfort for now. I hope you will take the use of the screens and watch as I put an end to Clark and capture this Mr. Harkness. I'm sure my labs will find why you are so interested in him and when they do, they will use that information for _my_ benefit. Oh and if you are getting any ideas about the cables, they have breakers that will trip and sound an alarm, so don't try anything," Lex advised.

The Master smiled to himself as he ordered several pounds of ribs and a bucket of hot wings with the remote. "_Poor, poor Lex. I knew you were going to betray me. I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn't, but to do so this early in the game dooms this enterprise to failure," _the Master thought. "_Why do you think I never told you why I was interested in Jack? Hum? I hope you learn patience and how to maneuver your nemesis into being your backup plan out of all this." _A concealed panel on the floor opened and a table rose up next to his chair carrying his snacks. He began munching while he watched several groups of armed men get into position on the multiple screens. One group looked like they were next to a bank. Another group was near a mall and had what looked like explosives. A third group had a creature wearing mechanic overalls on leash and a large metal collar in the back of a van. The fourth was simply waiting inside their van.

Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries and costumed super hero, perched on the ledge of the skyscraper waiting for action. His partner for the evening was casually leaning against the building as if the thought of plummeting 50 stories to his death was nothing more than an inconvenience. Oliver glanced over at the ground far below. "_Funny thing is, if Jack did slip and fall, he would definitely die, but then after a few minutes he would get back up and either bitch about having to clean his coat or flirt with the cop who showed up at the scene_," he thought. "_At least he's got some entertaining stories to pass the time_." Oliver looked over at his new friend. "Hey Jack, you never finished got to finish your story before we stopped those gang members in that alley," he said.

"Oh yeah. So anyway, I thought I had finally got my vortex manipulator working and set it to find the Doctor," Jack said. "I activated it and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of this tall guy with bushy hair and a rubbish long scarf. He just stands there and points at me with his really long finger while his female friend stood there with her mouth hanging open," he said. Jack chuckled to himself before he went on. "They were really shocked. I just figured they had never seen a man just appear out of nowhere before. I was wrong. The tall guy says to me, 'Excuse me, but you're not wearing any pants.'" Jack said imitating a British accent. Jack went on with his story, "I told him that sometimes happens during vortex transport. The woman was still staring with her mouth open." "'You're also not wearing any underwear,' he told me,"Jack said, again imitating a British accent. "I said that happens all the time and winked at them. He looked at my wrist and muttered something about bloody time agents and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. Before I could say anything, he blasted my manipulator. After that I rematerialized inside Torchwood (with my pants back on by the way.) My vortex manipulator's time travel function was permanently fried," Jack said shaking his head. "At least now I know why from the moment _I _first met the Doctor, the first thing he always did when I entered a room was look below my waist. I always thought he was checking me out. It turns out he was just making sure I was wearing pants unlike the first time _he _met me," Jack explained.

Oliver laughed. "So you spent over a century trying to find this guy and when you do, you end up flashing one of his earlier regenerations?" Oliver said. He reached over and lightly punched Jack in the leg. "That's priceless!" he snickered. "That had to have gone down in the time traveler's most embarrassing moments top 10 list," Oliver teased.

Jack looked shocked. "Not even close. Did I ever tell you about the time John and I did a con on a Royal Family and it was John's turn to seduce the Princess?" Jack asked. Oliver couldn't keep the smile from his face as he shook his head. "When we arrived, we were really drunk and split up to do our parts of the con. Turns out John read the briefing wrong and ended up having a week long affair with the Princess' prize poodle," Jack said.

Oliver turned a shade similar to his uniform. "That's wrong, that's really wrong," he managed to say. Oliver was saved from further descriptions of John's florid affair with a quadruped by Chloe contacting them on their earpieces.

"Captain...Green Arrow, are you guys there?" Chloe asked.

"Go ahead, Watchtower," Jack said.

"There is a bank robbery in progress at 5th and Main. The security video looks like 5 guys with sub-machine guns," Chloe said.

"We read you Watchtower, we're on our way," Oliver said as he stood up.

"Wait guys, there's more. We also have a disturbance near the Watchtower itself. Police radio says some guy wearing a Halloween mask and blue overalls is tearing up a store just a couple blocks away. Captain, that sounds like a weevil, but I thought they were only near the Rift?" Chloe said.

Jack frowned in thought. "Shit! All right we'll split up. Arrow will take care of the robbery and I'll go investigate the other disturbance. Watchtower, send Cyborg to back Arrow just in case things get dicey. Let Torchwood know about my gig in case it really is a weevil and let them know that I'm handling it so that they don't send some UNIT rookie in to get slaughtered," Jack said. He turned and walked along the ledge to the open window they had come in.

"Jack, what's a weevil?" Oliver asked seeing the concern in Jack's face.

"I'll explain later. I need to hurry," Jack said as he quickened his pace. Jack patted the second holster he now wore that carried a blaster identical to the ones John always had with him. It had been a welcome home present from John. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

Lois and Clark were settling into a nice dinner at the apartment above the Talon on the second official night of them being a couple when Clark's cell-phone rang. It was the special ringer for when Chloe called in on the Watchtower's phone line. "I'm sorry, Lois, but I have to take this. It's Chloe and something really big must be going on for them to bother me on my weekend off," he apologized.

Lois smiled at him and draped her arms around his large shoulders. She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to be your girlfriend, Smallville. Answer the phone already," she told him.

Clark smiled at her and answered the phone, "Boy-Scout here, go ahead Watchtower."

Lois rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh at his call sign. "_At least Jimmy and I came up with the Blur. That sounds a little better, but it still needs work," _Lois thought. She watched Clark's handsome face lose all signs of the happiness it had just a moment ago and was replaced by anger.

"I'm on my way, Watchtower," Clark said as he hung up his phone. "Lois, there are terrorists with explosives at the new Metropolis Great Mall. The place is full of people. Oliver and Victor are taking care of a bank robbery and Jack is investigating a rampaging creature that might be an alien near the Watchtower building. I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can," he told her.

"Go! Get out of here! I'll still be madly in love with you and wanting to jump your bones when you get back, so shoo!" Lois said. Clark smiled and super sped out of the apartment. Lois ran to the bedroom to get dressed. She was torn between which story to go after. "_Robberies are a dime a dozen, so terrorists at the mall or crazed alien creature? Which one Lane? Which one?"_ she asked herself as she changed into a pair of jeans, a red button down blouse, and a brown suede jacket. "_I'll figure it out on the way into town,"_ Lois told herself as she grabbed her keys and raced for the front door. She threw it open and found a man dressed in black combat fatigues waiting for her with a pistol already raised. Lois heard the _pffft _of compressed air as the dart gun fired and then felt the sting as the dart buried itself into her left shoulder. "Shit," she said as she slid to the ground.

Chloe scanned through the Police bands and switched between different security feeds. The creature had disappeared momentarily. She had been around Smallville, Ks long enough to know that the odds of the monster actually just going away were slim to none. The perimeter alarm to the building sounded to let her know a side door had been breached. She was about to investigate it when it Lana Luthor's terrorized and out of breath voice came over the intercom from the lobby. "Chloe, Chloe, oh please god, be there. Chloe!" Lana yelled.

As much as she disliked the woman Lana had become, she was her friend once and she sounded like she was in mortal peril. "What's wrong, Lana?" Chloe asked as she keyed the intercom button.

"You have to help me. There's this monster chasing me and I think it followed me to your building. It was wearing mechanics overalls, but it wasn't human," Lana sobbed.

"Hold on, Lana. I've already sent for help. I'm coming down to the lobby to get you. Stay right there," Chloe said as she grabbed a Tazer from a desk drawer. She ran to the elevator and slammed the lobby button. Chloe didn't see Lana's smug smile on the interior security camera.

Jack saw the weevil tear open the side door to the Watchtower building. He ran after it and followed it inside. From the back he had to admit that even he couldn't distinguish one weevil from another since they all wore identical jumpsuits. The coveralls weren't just similar; they were identical down to a molecular level. They even all had the same piece of hard candy he had left in the pocket when he had given the original to the weevil he named "Janet". She had preferred the monkey flavored ones over the dog, so he had left her an extra when he had set her loose the first time. His Torchwood crew had steadfastly refused to ask him where he had picked up the odd flavored candies. They were dumbfounded the next night when all of the weevil sightings had the weevils wearing clothes. The two they captured were Janet (the second in her long list of captures) and a different one, but both were wearing the SAME overalls. The team never did figure out who or what was duplicating the suits.

Jack watched the lumbering frame make its way into the lobby where it stopped in the middle and turned around, sniffing the air. It let out its eerie howl and turned suddenly to face the hallway where Jack was standing. It crouched lower and swayed side to side. "Janet?" Jack asked in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. Jack looked at what he had come to think of as the closest thing the humans and weevils had to an ambassador. He saw the large silver collar around "her" neck. "What is that around your neck?"

"A dual purpose tracking device and shock / restraint collar," Lana Luthor said as she emerged from behind one of pillars. "We found this thin on its way into Kansas last week and decided to see if it could be of any use. 'Janet?' I guess your taste in girlfriends hasn't improved much has it, Jack Harkness?" she asked him. Before Jack could get a word in Lana motioned with her hand and a thug stepped out as well holding Chloe in one hand and a gun pointed to her head with the other. "Before you start threatening me again, I just want you to know that I really don't mind killing Chloe," Lana said.

Jack raised his arms to his sides to be as none threatening as possible. "What do you want, Lana?" he asked.

"What I want is Clark's eternal love and devotion, which is rightfully mine," Lana said. "I had that until you came and screwed everything up, but with the help of an old enemy of yours, I'm going to get it back," she said. "I'm going to break Clark of his foolish crush on that piece of trash, Lois Lane. Chloe here is going to help me. Clark is going to be mine again, and Lois Lane, Chloe Sullivan and you will no longer be a threat to my happiness," Lana explained.

Jack smirked at Lana causing her blood to boil. "Like my friends in London say, 'You're bloody mental' you know that right?" he asked her.

Lana ignored Jack and walked over to Chloe clucking her tongue. "It's so sad about your love life, Chloe. First you spend years pining away for the man who thinks of you only as his sidekick and rightly only has eyes for me. Then you go and marry a loser. He wises up and divorces you. You then get together with a serial killer who kills your ex-husband right in front of you. Now, you get involved with another loser," Lana said acidly. Jack saw where this was headed and silently slipped off his coat, hiding his blaster in the sleeve. "Lex told me to bring your boyfriend back alive, but I just don't see how that is possible. It's his fault that Clark is with that tramp in the first place and we Luthors just don't sit idly by and let insults like that or threats like the ones he made at the USO dance go unanswered," she said calmly. "I want you to watch this and know why I ended up in the mansion and why you will always be alone," Lana told Chloe and motioned with her hand. A third man with a sub machine gun had stepped out and opened fire onto Jack. The bullets tore through his chest and head, killing him instantly. Lana wasn't nearly as satisfied as she hoped she would be when the only reaction she got from Chloe was a single tear sliding down her cheek. "_And people call me a cold hearted bitch_," Lana thought. "Leave the _thing _with the body, it should dispose of any evidence quite nicely," Lana said. "Let's go," Lana instructed her team as they dragged Chloe into the waiting van. It sped away as soon as everyone was on board.

Janet watched "the one who always is" get killed yet again. She admired his ability to take time out for recreation in the middle of an obviously busy day. After the final destruction of "the pale one who was dead, but just kept moving anyway" and then "the one who always is" going missing, her kind had thought about packing it in and finding a new vacation spot. Janet was thinking the same, but then she felt the familiar tingle that told her time was displeased at having an anomaly in its midst. She had travelled across this world's version of the Atlantic tracking his "scent". Janet sent up another howl and with it a mental surge into her home dimension to let her kin know that she found him again. They would have to travel through the rift as usual, but then they would follow her route and move into this new city to be near their idol. Superstars were so rare on the weevil side of the rift. Janet crouched low over the still lifeless body of Captain Jack Harkness. She reached down a clawed hand and gently tapped his forehead with one of the claws that could easily slice a man's neck off. Janet growled affectionately at him and then made her way to the basement door, instinctively knowing the way to the sewers.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

John Hart walked into his apartment and tossed his brown overcoat onto the hall table next to the door. He was tired after a full day of classes and shagging a couple of his teaching assistants. He walked the few feet towards the kitchen and didn't bother to turn on the light. John opened the fridge and grabbed a Guinness beer. He shuddered at the thought of drinking something brewed in this country. He opened the top and took a long swallow. "Do you have another one of those for me?" a familiar female voice said from his small living room.

"Shit!" John swore. In one smooth motion he put the bottle of beer on the counter (you don't waste a good beer), drew his hold-out blaster from his ankle holster, and rolled for cover behind the counter separating the living room from the kitchen. There were people who could scare John Hart, but very few who could actually terrify him. The woman in his living room made him want to wet his pants. John glanced longingly up at the far counter and wished he had gotten a chance to finish his beer before he died.

"Johnny, I asked you a question. Do you have another Guinness?" the woman asked. Her voice held a hint of merriment.

John swallowed. He had heard the same merriment in her voice when she had ordered 10 men to die. She had always had that upbeat attitude, right up until the moment the Time Agency had been overrun by the Legion. John hadn't known that she had been one of the ones to escape. "What do you want, Director?" he asked, not daring to show his head above the counter.

"Johnny, I think we have established this. I want you to give your old boss a beer so we can discuss some things over a drink. I promise not to kill you or hurt you," the woman said. She paused before speaking again in a flirty voice, "Unless you ask me to, of course. You always were a little kinky." Her voice took on a serious tone. "Johnny, this concerns Jack and why he came back to this time and place, now get your scrawny ass from behind that counter and get me a beer," she ordered.

He knew as soon as she mentioned _his _name, she had him. John would do anything to protect his friend. John made a decision. He tucked the hold-out blaster into the waist band of his pants so he could reach it faster. John wasn't sure if he could out draw the Director, but he would die trying. John Hart, ex-scout for the Time Agency stood and kept his back to the living room. He opened the fridge and grabbed another beer. With the same hand he grabbed the neck of his bottle. He walked to the entry way and turned on the living room lights.

Director River Song, head of the Time Agency was lounging in his armchair. She was wearing a white leather outfit with matching top and pants. She had a standard issue combat belt (standard issue in the 35th century) around her waist. An empty holster hung off of the belt. Her blaster was on the table, just out of arm's reach for her. A white box was next to the gun. River pointed to the gun. "I don't want to fight, Johnny," she said.

John pulled out his small gun and pointed it at her head. "Good, that will make this quick!" he spat. "I should draw this out after what you did to Jack, but he doesn't believe in torture anymore. The bloody git would probably forgive you if he could remember you at all," John said with pure venom.

"There was one thing I could always count on in the agency. Do you know what that was? …Right or wrong I could always count on you to take Jack's side. It's why I had him wiped while you were off station. It's why I'm here now. And for your information, he will forgive me," River said confidently.

"Are you insane? After what you did to him? I was just making a speech." John said. His anger was boiling. He saw the confident look that was always on River's face turn to one of sadness for a brief moment.

"Jack won't remember me now, but eventually he does get his memories back. We have a talk in the future. He will forgive me. I know you don't believe me, but a lot has happened to me since the agency dissolved. I've changed. I work for the same side as Jack. Well as much as I work for anyone's side other my own," River admitted.

"So what caused this miraculous rebirth, huh? You get religion? Head to a murder rehab, because I don't remember seeing you at any of the meetings," John said. His disbelief was written all over his face.

"I met the most wonderful man in the Universe and fell in love," River said simply. John lowered his gun. "Jack was even the best man at our wedding or maybe he was the maid the honor?" she said turning the statement into a rhetorical question, her brows knitting in confusion. "It was kind of an odd wedding, what with all of the dignitaries and such," River said, smiling at the memory.

John put his gun back in his waist band. He handed River her beer. "I'm not saying I believe a word you're saying. You did teach me everything I know about the con," John said. He sat on the couch opposite of River. "Now let's just suppose that I lost my mind and did believe you, why are you here other than to raid my beer supplies?" John asked.

River took a long drink before answering. "The super heroes," she answered. "Especially big blue," River said using the nickname she had come up with the first time John had showed her a picture of Superman.

"I knew it! You or the Time Agency, which of course means you eventually, were the ones behind the timeshift that delayed the rise of the super heroes!" John said in anger.

River shook her head in frustration. "It would have been a good plan when I was running the Agency, but like I said, I play for the other team now," River said. She saw the schoolboy smirk on John's face. "You know what I mean, Johnny. Actually, my husband was finally able to track where the shift came from and who caused it," she said. River waited patiently, letting John know who was in control.

John broke and asked, "Ok, who did it?"

"Superman did it, on a rural road five years ago," River said.

"What? You want me to believe that Superman changed his own destiny to stop the rise of superheroes? Now I know you've gone mad," John said. He rose from the couch, ready to toss his old boss out.

"We don't think he had any idea of what the later ramifications of his actions would be. The young man who later became Superman used time travel to save the life of a girl named Lana Lang," River said.

John sat back down. "Never mind, that makes perfect sense now. Having that stupid bint in the Universe could easily ruin a timeline," John said. "If the big, dumb farm boy (who was thinking with his _little_ Kryptonian at the time) is at fault, why are you here?" he asked, still confused.

"Someone else has gotten involved and that has allowed our side to send in a little help, not that you boys actually need it. You two were always my favorites," River said, her eyes alight with malicious glee. John motioned impatiently for her to continue. She sighed. "You always were the impatient one. The Master has teamed up with the Luthors," River said matter of factly.

John jumped up from the couch yelling, "NO! I won't let him take him again. I'll nuke this f***ing planet before I let him fall into that bastard's hands again!" John swore. He started to move off to his bedroom to change into his _work_ clothes when he was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"He does love you in his own way, John. Never forget that." River paused. "Before you go, I have to give you something," River said indicating the box. "You'll know who it is for."

John picked up the box and opened the lid. He looked down and took in a deep breath. "Is this real?" John asked in a quiet voice. River Song nodded her head. "Where the hell did you get this?" John asked.

"The same place I get most things," River said. "I stole it from a museum."

John changed his clothes and ran the two blocks to the Watchtower building. He had moved apartments when Jack moved to Metropolis. John had wanted to be closer to his old lover. He had the box River Song had given him tucked under one arm. John slammed the lobby doors open when he got to the Watchtower building. He immediately saw something wasn't right. Spent shell casing littered the floor. His best friend lay in a pool of blood in the center of the floor. At least Jack had thrown "the Coat" far enough away that it was spared any bullet holes. John did get tired of listening to Jack whine about repairing the thing. John walked over to the coat and picked it up. He dusted it off, sat down on a bench in the lobby, and waited. After a few moments, Jack began breathing and sat up. He looked over to where he had thrown his coat. "It's over here, blue eyes," John told him, lifting up the coat so he could see it.

"Thanks," Jack said as he stood up. He looked at John in his combat clothes. "Good, you're dressed. We have problems," Jack said.

"You don't know the half of it," John muttered.

"John, Lana kidnapped Chloe and Lois. She is planning on using them to get to Clark," Jack said as he walked to the elevator. John stood and tossed him his coat.

"Bad news, friend. The Master probably gave them the idea," John informed him. Jack stopped in mid-stride. He slowly turned to face John. John made the mistake of looking in his eyes. John had heard the legends of the Untempered Schism. The break in reality where the Time Lords forced their children to gaze upon the whole of creation. It was said that the children were either inspired, went mad, or ran away. Looking into the fury of Jack's eyes was like looking into the Untempered Schism. John had the distinct urge to run like hell. The moment ended when Jack turned away and continued to walk to the elevator. "Wait up! Whatever you're going to do, I'm coming with you, and we're going to need this," John said opening the lid of the box.

Jack looked inside the box and his whole demeanor changed. He smiled and said, "They're not going to know what hit them." They stepped into the elevator and Jack pulled out his cell-phone. He dialed the number that called Clark from the Watchtower line. "Boy-Scout, this is the Captain. We've been set up. Return to the tower immediately and meet me in my apartment. I'll explain everything," Jack said tersely and then hung up before Clark could ask any questions. He looked over at John. "I don't want him going off half-cocked. This is a team rescue mission, something the Luthors and Saxon never understood," Jack explained. Jack dialed the emergency number on his phone that linked him to Chloe's computer in the command center. He sent the recall code alerting all JLA members to return to the Watchtower. He put the phone back in his pocket. He hummed a showtune as the lift sped them upwards towards the floor that housed the apartment he shared with Chloe.

John and Jack got off the lift and found an impatient Clark waiting in the living room. Clark took in the state of Jack's bloody shirt and rushed over to his friend. "Jack, are you ok?" he said on instinct. Clark caught himself and remembered who he was talking to. "Who killed you this time?" he asked.

"Before I tell you, you must promise me you won't rush off without us and the rest of the team," Jack said.

"Jack what is going on?" Clark asked. Jack stood still with his arms folded across his bloody shirt. Clark knew that he would never be able to out wait the immortal. "Ok, I promise," Clark said. Jack looked into the young man's eyes, was satisfied in what he saw there, and quickly filled Clark in on what had happened. "Lana did this?" Clark asked, not wanting to believe that the woman he once thought he loved was capable of such atrocities. "Are you sure?"

"Clark, she had was standing in the lobby and ordered my death. She has a sick obsession with controlling you. She took Chloe and Lois and plans on using them to force you to submit to whatever she has planned. If she is working with Harold Saxon now, then we can assume they know about your weakness to Kryptonite," Jack said. John noticed how Jack refused to call the Master by the name he had chosen as a Time Lord. He realized it was an act of defiance against the man who had tortured him and demanded he be called Master. John doubted the words ever passed Jack's lip the entire year that never was. "We are going to have to work as a team and bring in the JLA as backup," Jack said. He grabbed the young man's shoulder. "I promise you, we will get the girls back alive, and we will make Saxon and the Luthors sorry they got up this morning. Especially the Luthors," Jack said with a wide grin. "John has something for you."

John handed Clark the box he had been carrying. "Before you even ask, I don't know what museum this was stolen from, but it is a Kryptonian artifact and therefore it belongs to you," John said. He actually had a really good idea of which museum it came from. He had visited it when he had been researching the origins of the Legion. "This artifact originally belonged to a Kryptonian warrior who united your people. He stood for peace and hope, just like you do. He was also the founder of your line. The first El," John said.

Clark reverently opened the lid expecting a weapon of some sort. What he saw was a large yellow pentagon bordered in red facing him. The Kryptonian symbol for hope he had been using was in the center of the pentagon. The "S" was touching each of the five sides. The pentagon was emblazoned on a blue cloth like material. Jack felt the timeline shift ever so slightly back to where it was supposed to be.

Dinah Lance was standing in the command center with the rest of the assembled JLA. She had received the emergency recall code from the Watchtower and now there was no sign of Chloe, Jack, or Clark. She was about to try Chloe's cell-phone again when she saw the other members stop in their tracks. They all stood motionless and stared down the hallway to the stairs leading to Chloe and Jack's apartment. Dinah turned around and froze. Chills ran down her spine and it seemed like time slowed down. Clark was walking down the center of the hallway flanked on his left by Captain Jack Harkness and John Hart on his right. Clark was finally wearing a costume. "_And oh what a costume,_" Dinah thought. Clark was dressed in a blue one piece suit made out of a material that shimmered slightly. He wore red boots and a red bikini thing to hide his nether region considering how tight the suit was. Around Clark's waist was a yellow belt. He had a red cape attached to the blue suit. Dinah watched them in her perceived slow motion. Clark's cape billowed behind him as he walked. John was cracking his knuckles and flexing his neck, getting ready for a fight. He was dressed in his red Napoleonic Officer's jacket and black leather pants like when she first met him. His sword was buckled more tightly at side, ready for action. Jack, well Jack wore the same coat he always did. Jack had somehow transformed his sexy walk into a walk that spoke of wisdom and cunning beyond anything mere mortals could ever achieve. Dinah realized that had she been born 1,000 years ago she would have accepted these three visitors from the stars as gods. Jack was the god of the Hunt. John was the god of war, and Clark was clearly the god of Justice. Someone's mortal ass was about to get kicked.

Clark walked into the room and slowly looked at his assembled friends. He felt uncomfortable at the looks of awe they were giving him. He knew that wearing this suit would only get him more of the same as time passed. The only people who would never look at him that way were his mother,Lois, and Jack. The thought of Lois caused him to clench his teeth. "Thank you all for all for responding to the emergency recall," Clark said. "We have a situation on our hands that will require the entire team. Lois Lane and Watchtower have been kidnapped by the Luthors and an alien who calls himself the Master," Clark explained. He waited for the gasps and shouts of indignation to die down. "The Master is a time traveler like Jack. He knows my weaknesses. In fact, he probably knows all of our weaknesses, which is why we will attack as a team," Clark said.

Jack punched up the schematics for the new LexCorp II building. A 3-D model sprang to life over the conference table. "We are guessing they are holding the girls somewhere in there," he said. "We are going in with the assumption that the building was altered since the blue prints were submitted to city hall. What we _can_ rely on is that the primary load bearing structures will have to have remained the same as well as the locations of the lifts," Jack said. "The plan is for the main group of the JLA to strike here at the back," he said as he pointed to a loading dock at the back of the building. "That should pull the majority of Lex's troops away giving John and me a chance at getting inside," Jack said. "Once we're inside, we'll clear the building of any Kryptonite and signal for Clark to come on in."

Oliver Queen studied the floating blueprints. "So Jack, how are you John planning on getting inside?" he asked.

John answered that question, "Well since we're professional agents, highly trained in covert and tactical entries, we figured we try knocking on the front door for once." Oliver gave him a dirty look. "I'm serious. Jack and I are going in through the front lobby while you lot make a ruckus out back," John explained. "One of the principals of dynamic entry is called 'the shock of violence'. We figure after all the violence Lana did to Jack's body; having him show up at the front door saying he has an appointment will have quite the shock value."

Oliver was familiar with all of the principals of dynamic entries and knew that what John and Jack had planned wasn't exactly what "shock of violence" meant, but he smiled anyway at the thought of Lana's face when she saw Jack in the building. He tapped the communicator placed in his ear. "Roll-call everyone," Oliver said quietly.

"Cyborg here and in position," Victor said. Victor took up his position next to Dinah at the end of an alley that faced the rear of the LexCorp II.

"Black Canary here, I'm in position," Dinah said. Her part during this mission was to provide support for Victor while he attempted to hack into the security system if they made it into the loading dock.

"Impulse ready and willing," Bart said from a couple of blocks away. He would come running in once a large enough group of guards came out into the open. He tapped his foam covered baton in his hand. At the speed he would be moving, a tap from the baton would leave a person unconscious. The foam covering helped keep him from breaking any of their bones…usually.

"All right people, Green Arrow is in position as well. Let's get their attention," Oliver said from his perch on the four story building across the street from the rear of the building. He pulled out one of the arrows he had recently made. He had adapted the tip to hold one of John's EMP grenades. Oliver pulled back the bowstring and let the arrow fly. The arrow sped across the street and then slammed into the wall, just below a camera covering the loading docks. The blast radius of the grenade also covered several of the roll up doors, locking them in place.

Victor and Dinah ran to the loading dock and got there just as three guards made it out of the man sized door on the far wall. The second man out fell over as a sedative tipped arrow sprouted from his shoulder. The first guard had his gun out, but he never got a chance to fire it. He was knocked out by the trash can Victor had thrown from 20 yards away. The third guard shot at Dinah who shattered the bullet with a blast of sonic waves. The guard quickly ducked back inside. Dinah tapped her communicator, "Green Arrow, if this is the resistance we can expect we'll beat the Captain and Vengeance to the target." The roll-up door farthest away from her exploded and a squad of men wearing black combat armor rolled out of the smoking frame.

The security guard in the front lobby sat at his desk and watched the indicator lights for the loading dock go from green to red. He was glad he had pulled the cushy job at the front rather than have to face whatever was going on back there. The sound of the front doors opening, even though he had locked them himself, drew his attention away from his adult magazine. Two men were casually walking into the lobby. The shorter one dressed in a red jacket, wearing a sword was putting a small black box into his pocket. "That was embarrassingly easy," John said. "I have half a mind to relock those doors and try picking them by hand, just to have some sort of challenge." The men reached the desk and the taller one wearing the gray / blue coat pointed a revolver at the security guard's head.

"I need you to do me a favor," Jack told the guard. "Actually, a couple of them. First one is I need you to hand my partner here your sidearm," he said calmly with his charming smile. The guard complied and handed John his gun. John rolled his eyes at the primitive firearm at tossed it over his shoulder. "The second favor I need you to do for me is to hand over your handcuffs," Jack said sweetly.

"Bugger this!" John said. He reached over and punched the guard squarely across the jaw, knocking him out. John shrugged, "I was getting bored." John hopped over the desk and examined the security panels. "It's not like the movies, there aren't any buttons that control anything back here," he complained. Jack wasn't paying any attention to John. He was staring up at a security camera that had suddenly swiveled to face them. Jack gave the camera his million watt smile and then shot it.

"We should have visitors soon," Jack guessed.

Lex and Lana Luthor were in his office when the first alarm sounded. Lex pressed a button under his desk and the wall nearest him slid away, revealing a wall of monitors. Lex immediately saw one of the loading dock cameras was down. He sent a strike team to the dock in case it was another of the JLA's attacks. He also activated his latest 33.1 experiments in case the strike team wasn't enough. Lana was watching the other monitors and yelled out, "No! That's impossible! I saw him die!" Lex slowly turned his head away, angry his wife had just yelled in his ear. He looked at the monitor she was looking at and he quickly forgave her. Had he not watched the operation from one of her team's helmet-cams, Lex would have just assumed Lana had botched the job. Instead he was now looking at the man he had watched be shredded by bullets calmly take the front lobby guard hostage. To make sure it was him, Lana took control of the camera and panned it over to him. She zoomed in on his face. The smug bastard looked at the camera and his smile sent chills down her spine. Harkness pointed a gun at the camera and the video feed ended.

"I'm beginning to see why Mr. Saxon is so interested in our friend down there," Lex said. "Let's put him through his paces shall we. I'm going to redirect the latest 33.1 batch to him and that Renaissance Park reject," Lex said eagerly. He typed a new set of commands into his terminal and watched the remaining lobby cameras. The two men were simply standing next to the desk, chatting.

Jack had put his revolver away and both men had their wrists outs, their vortex manipulators set to scan. John was scanning for signs of Kryptonite while Jack's more damaged manipulator scanned for life readings. "Jack, I'm getting low level readings throughout the whole building. It's like it's in the frame work or something," John said.

"It can't be. There isn't enough Kryptonite on this planet to line the frame of a building this big," Jack responded.

"Ok," John paused while he thought and then asked, "Can it be made into some form of an alloy?"

"Nope, it's a crystal, remember," Jack reminded him. Jack snapped his fingers. "But crystals can be crushed and suspended in a fluid. Mix it in the right ratio and pump it through the pipes and you get a Kryptonite building. Look for the largest concentration of Kryptonite and that's where the pump will be," Jack said. His vortex manipulator started beeping loudly. John looked over at the display.

"Wow, yours really is buggered. It says all those folks coming towards us have no life signs. I'll take a look at it when we get done," John offered. The stairs at either end of the lobby slammed open and "people" starting flowing through them. They're dead eyes filmy white. Each one had a rectangular gray box inserted into the side of their head.

"John, remember when I told you Green Arrow and Co. took out a 33.1 with nothing but cadavers?" Jack asked his old friend.

John drew his gun with one hand and his sword with the other. "I'm guessing this is what he was up to," John finished Jack's thought.

Jack pulled out the two sonic blasters John had given him. "Just so we're clear about things. Since they're all ready dead, it doesn't count as falling off the wagon," Jack said reassuringly.

Cupping Jack's head with the hand he had his gun in, John pulled him in for a quick kiss. "I love this man!" he exclaimed before jumping into the battle. John swung his mono-molecular edged blade through one neck while he shot the head off of another target. Jack held his arms out at his sides and fired both guns over and over again, destroying enemies on either side of them. When one of the 33.1 zombies would get to close to Jack its limbs were quickly severed and kicked away by the time scout who had adopted the hero name of Vengeance. When John's life was threatened by a zombie, it's head was turned into a gory mist by a well placed shot from the immortal Captain. Both of them were laughing like children at Christmas. Lexcorp ran out zombies well before the two friends had gotten remotely tired.

Lex shut down the monitors and stepped away from his desk. He got turned on by power and what he had just witnessed had given him a raging hard-on. He wanted to take Lana right there on his desk, but there were other matters to take care of. Their hostages needed to be brought to them for the Luthor's protection. Lex picked up the phone and made the call.

Jack and John ran to the facility maintenance room. John's scans showed the pump to be behind a wall with no door. They looked at each other and both drew their guns, firing simultaneously. The wall now had a large rectangular hole in it, the signature blast mark of their sonic weapons. Jack stepped in a examined the pump. There were two large containers fixed to the far wall.

"Glad we didn't come in that way," John quipped. Jack ignored him and figured out how to reverse the pumps and fill up the tanks.

Jack tapped his communicator in his ear, "Captain to Boy-Scout, ETA for building decon is 10 minutes. See you soon."

Jack and John left the pump room and rematerialized the wall, sealing it off. They walked to the elevators and got in one. John pressed the top floor. The doors shut and the elevator made its slow journey upwards. Soft music played in the background. Jack and John stood in the center as if they were headed up for another day at the office. "So, you and Chloe going out to eat after this all over. I figure neither one of you will want to cook," John said making small talk.

"Hadn't really thought about it, but you're right. I should take her out. She's had a rough day. How about you?" Jack asked politely. Anyone looking would see two friends who couldn't be any calmer.

"Thought about asking that AC fellow out for a few drinks. He's pretty hot and we've all ready made out once in the janitor's closet," John admitted.

"Good luck. AC is a sweet guy and has great abs," Jack said.

"Yeah, the only problem is he smells like fish," John complained. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. John bowed and gestured out the door, "Shall we?"

The ex-time scouts made their way carefully down the corridor. Midway down, a door was opening and shutting automatically on a person's leg. A gaping hole in the wall was next to the door and a TV monitor was embedded in the wall opposite of the hole. Jack put his hand on the door and pulled it open all the way. The leg was all that remained of who ever had been guarding this room. The room was completely white except for a message written in what was probably the guard's blood:

Naughty Jack! You brought friends and I was so hoping to get to play with you one on one. Oh well, I'll "catch" you next time.

Yours Forever,

The Master

John swallowed his disgust. "I was just going to kill the bastard slowly, but now, I think I'll hand him over to Director Song to play with. She'll have a field day with him," he said.

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Never mind, let's go find your woman and get out of here. I don't like their décor," John said haughtily. They finished walking down the hall and came to a large door with the LuthorCorp symbol on it.

"Stay here and watch my back," Jack ordered.

"I'd rather watch your ass, but all right," John said, "Don't be too long."

Captain Jack Harkness opened the door and confidently walked into the lion's den. Lois and Chloe were tied to chairs with gags in their mouths. Lana was standing next to Lois with a gun pointed at her head. Lex was sitting on the edge of desk. His hands folded in his lap. "I'm glad I finally get to meet you, Captain Harkness," Lex said warmly. "You're quite the individual. You come back from the dead. You rain hell down on my latest batch of experiments. I'm guessing you were the one who put the JLA up to attacking my loading docks as a diversion. Very well played strategy. There's just something that's bothering me. Now that you're here in my office, what were you planning on doing? Clark can't help you, and you left your other friend behind."

Jack's vortex manipulator silently vibrated, telling him ten minutes was almost up. "You got me there, Lex. You know I won't do anything rash that would jeopardize the women. I was hoping as businessmen we could work out some kind of deal," Jack improvised, buying time. He looked around for an empty chair and chose one on a wall adjacent to the large windows overlooking Metropolis. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked Lex. Knowing a sitting man was an easier target to shoot than a moving one, Lex agreed with a wave of his hand.

"I didn't know you were a business man, Captain. I've never heard of you before," Lex challenged. Jack palmed the small drone out of his pocket and leaned forward, as if he was interested in what Lex was saying. In reality he was placing the drone on the floor, behind his leg. Jack oriented it towards the window and pressed the delay button.

Jack stood again and walked towards Lex. "I used to run one of the most powerful organizations in the world, of course you never heard of me," he said as is if it should have been obvious. The drone began its slow trek towards the wall containing the windows. Jack looked down at Lois and caught her eyes. "My portfolio is dynamic and my entry into the business world would be too violent for most people to handle," he said. Lois blinked twice to tell him she understood. The drone encountered the wall, set off a painful high pitch whine, and then exploded; taking most of the wall with it.

Lois had been expecting something, Lana had not. When the high pitch whine started, Lana raised both of her hands to cover her ears. Lois shifted her weight and toppled into her. When the wall ripped apart, Lex jumped off his desk; right into the path of Captain Jack Harkness. Jack punched him across the jaw, sending him spinning into his desk. Lex was lying across his desk staring out the gaping hole in his wall when he saw _him_. The image would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. Lex saw Clark's black hair blowing in wind as he slowly rose into view. He was now dressed in a blue and red costume. The red cape was flapping behind him. As Clark rose into view, Lex saw he had his arms crossed; looking very annoyed. Eventually Clark was fully in view and clearly hovering.

Lana had pushed Lois off of her and regained her gun. She was unaware of what was going on at the open wall. Lana pointed the gun at Lois' head. "He's mine. He always was and he always will be; you blue collar whore!" The gun suddenly became too hot to hold as Clark's heat vision melted the barrel.

"You really are a bitch," Clark said, finally believing it. Lana wasn't sure what burned more, her hand or his words. She ran to the adjoining room. "Let her go, Jack," Clark said, "We're done here." Clark floated into the room glaring at Lex, daring him to make a move. Jack untied Lois and Chloe. "We're leaving now, Lex. Don't try to stop us," Clark warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it, old buddy," Lex said. He knew he had lost this skirmish, but there were bound to be more in the future. His knowledge of Clark's abilities and weaknesses made it an uneven playing field. Lex looked at Jack and swore not to underestimate this man again.

"Come on, Lois. Let's go home," Clark suggested as he took Lois in his arms. They flew out of the window.

"Sorry, Chloe. We have to walk and ride the elevator," Jack sighed. Jack turned on Lex and glared at him. "Now that Clark's gone, let me make something clear, Lex. People who threaten those who I love don't end well. Either that or they never end at all," he said cryptically. He took Chloe by the hand and they walked out of the office to join John.

When the three of them finally left the building and crossed the street, Chloe let out a sigh of relief. She playfully slapped Jack's arm. "Took you long enough," she teased him. Jack hugged her close. "What are we going to do about the Luthor's? They know both Clark and your secrets now," Chloe said glumly.

John turned around and walked backwards as he talked to Chloe and Jack. "Don't worry your cute little blonde head one bit. Uncle John already has a plan," he said confidently. He looked at John simply said, "The Titan operation."

Jack stopped and let go of Chloe. He put both hands on either side of John's face and kissed him. "You're brilliant!" he yelled.

"Yeah, that's why you love me," John said.

Later that evening Lana Luthor was making her way to _her_ bedroom, not the one she shared with Lex. She was furious at how he had mismanaged things and let Clark get away. Lana was certain she was going to have to do something to remove Lex so she could take over LexCorp and focus more resources on regaining control of Clark. She made it to her door and heard people having extremely loud sex on the other side. Lana threw open the door and caught her husband in the act with Prof. Milton Fine.

"Oops, looks like we're caught," Lex giggled, clearly drunk.

"Guess so, mate," Prof. Fine said. He got out of Lana's bed stark nude and went over to a black bag on the night stand. He pulled out a yellow, glowing vial of cologne. John sprayed himself and slid up to Lana. The combination of alien and 55th century pheromones overwhelmed Lana.

Lana ripped off her clothes saying, "I have to have you now!"

"He's mine, I saw him first," Lex whined. He tried to get of bed but was having trouble moving.

"There's plenty of me to share, loves. Lana why don't you go crawl into bed and I'll pour us a drink," John suggested in a husky voice. Lana rushed to the bed and waited for him. John poured a drink for Lana and him. He dropped a quick dissolving pill in hers. John handed her the drink, "Bottoms up." Lana drained her glass and rolled over, taking his statement at face value.

"Take me," Lana begged.

"Before we go any further there are some things I should tell you," John said. "Due to a misunderstanding, I once spent an entire week having sex with a poodle," he told her.

"I don't care, I need you now," Lana said. Her arms were getting heavy. She found it hard to move.

"I just wanted you to know the depths I've sunk," John said as he leaned down to her. He stopped inches from her face. "Because as low as I've sunk, not even I'm twisted enough to have sex with something like you," John snarled. He put one finger on her forehead and pushed her down. Lana slipped into unconsciousness. John had slipped Lana and Lex the original version of Retcon he and Jack had developed for the agency. Unlike its current version, the original wiped an entire week's worth of memory and left the recipient paralyzed for 12 hours. John kissed Lex one last time and got dressed. He whistled a jaunty tune as he left the mansion. As the Retcon worked, Jack Harkness felt time finally heal itself.

Epilogue

Chloe sat at her terminal checking her various monitors. It had been two weeks since John had wiped the Luthor's memory. Victor had hacked the LuthorCorp mainframe and erased all references to both of them. She was relieved to know that Clark and Jack's secrets were safe for now. Chloe looked over her shoulder at her lover who was standing next to the conference table. She smiled at him. Jack grinned and waved. He stopped waving and looked ill. Jack doubled over and grabbed the table. Chloe thought she saw a slight shimmer around him. She rushed over to him, but was stopped by his pained voice, "Get back! Everyone get back!" Jack tried to stand but he doubled over in pain again.

"Jack, what's going on?" Chloe pleaded.

"Time storm," he gasped, "I absorbed a bolt of energy that came out of the vortex a couple years ago. I guess it has finally decided to discharge," he said through gritted teeth. Jack closed his eyes as small sparks began flying off of him. A huge blast of energy lanced from Jack's chest and struck the center of the room with an explosive concussion. Jack was thrown across the room to land in a heap. Chloe and Oliver ran to him to find his shirt smoking.

Oliver put his hand on Jack's chest. "He's not breathing. Leave it to Jack to come up with a new way to get himself killed," he joked. Chloe gave him a dirty look.

"Uh, guys," Dinah said quietly. Oliver and Chloe didn't hear her. "Hey, GUYS!" she said louder. "Jack may not be breathing, but there is a naked guy over here who is," Dinah said. Chloe ran over to Dinah. A black haired man who was even taller than Jack was waking up. He had a handsome, rectangular face. He shook his head and tried to stand. Only then did he notice his lack of clothes.

"Excuse, but where are my clothes?" he asked politely in a smooth Welsh accent. He looked over to his left at the prone form on the ground. "Jack!" he yelled and ran to him, not caring he was naked.

Chloe stared at the naked man hovering over her lover. "_Jack was right, he does have a nice ass," _Chloe thought. She had no idea what set of cosmic circumstances had brought this supposedly dead man into the Watchtower. Chloe recognized him from the photos Jack had shown her. She walked over to the chair where Jack had thrown his coat and picked it up. She draped it around the nude man's shoulders to give him some privacy. She gave his shoulders a comforting squeeze. "Ianto Jones, we have a lot to talk about," Chloe told him.


End file.
